Yalcinkaya Ahmet, Yalcinkaya Rumeysa, Sardh Fabian, Landegren Nils
Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye.
Front Immunol. 2025 Jan 16;15:1501364. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1501364. eCollection 2024.
Biological sex is closely associated with the properties and extent of the immune response, with males and females showing different susceptibilities to diseases and variations in immunity. Androgens, predominantly in males, generally suppress immune responses, while estrogens, more abundant in females, tend to enhance immunity. It is also established that sex hormones at least partially explain sex biases in different diseases, particularly autoimmune diseases in females. These differences are influenced by hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors, and vary throughout life stages. The advent of gender-affirming hormone therapy offers a novel opportunity to study the immunological effects of sex hormones. Despite the limited studies on this topic, available research has revealed that testosterone therapy in transgender men may suppress certain immune functions, such as type I interferon responses, while increasing inflammation markers like TNF-α. Transgender women on estrogen therapy also experience alterations in coagulation-related and inflammatory characteristics. Furthermore, other possible alterations in immune regulation can be inferred from the assessment of inflammatory and autoimmune markers in transgender individuals receiving hormone therapy. Understanding the complex interactions between sex hormones and the immune system, particularly through the unique perspective offered by gender-affirming hormone therapies, may facilitate the development of targeted therapies for infections and autoimmune diseases while also improving healthcare outcomes for transgender individuals. Here we review immune dynamics throughout life in both sexes and provide a summary of novel findings drawn from studies exploring gender-affirming hormone therapy.
生物性别与免疫反应的特性和程度密切相关,男性和女性对疾病的易感性不同,免疫力也存在差异。雄激素主要存在于男性体内,通常会抑制免疫反应,而雌激素在女性体内更为丰富,往往会增强免疫力。还证实性激素至少在一定程度上解释了不同疾病中的性别差异,尤其是女性的自身免疫性疾病。这些差异受到激素、遗传和环境因素的影响,并且在整个生命阶段都会有所变化。性别肯定激素疗法的出现为研究性激素的免疫效应提供了一个新的机会。尽管关于这个主题的研究有限,但现有的研究表明,对跨性别男性进行睾酮治疗可能会抑制某些免疫功能,如I型干扰素反应,同时增加炎症标志物如TNF-α。接受雌激素治疗的跨性别女性在凝血相关和炎症特征方面也会发生变化。此外,从接受激素治疗的跨性别个体的炎症和自身免疫标志物评估中可以推断出免疫调节的其他可能变化。了解性激素与免疫系统之间的复杂相互作用,特别是通过性别肯定激素疗法提供的独特视角,可能有助于开发针对感染和自身免疫性疾病的靶向疗法,同时也改善跨性别个体的医疗保健结果。在这里,我们回顾了两性一生中的免疫动态,并总结了探索性别肯定激素疗法的研究中的新发现。
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