Dang Steven, Wither Joan, Jurisica Igor, Chandran Vinod, Eder Lihi
Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Schroeder Arthritis Institute and Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Autoimmun. 2025 Mar;152:103394. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2025.103394. Epub 2025 Mar 2.
Psoriasis and spondyloarthritis (SpA), including psoriatic arthritis (PsA), are immune-mediated inflammatory conditions that affect the skin and musculoskeletal system. Males and female patients with psoriatic disease and SpA exhibit differences in clinical presentation, disease progression, and treatment response. The underlying biological mechanisms driving these sex differences remain poorly understood. This review explores the current evidence on sex-related differences in biomarkers and biological pathways in psoriasis, PsA, and SpA. While no conclusive sex-specific biomarkers have been validated, this review highlights several sex-related differences in biomarkers and biological pathways, including differences in bone turnover markers, IL-23/IL-17 pathway activity, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and cardio-metabolic profiles that may partially contribute to the clinical differences observed between male and female patients. Sex hormones may contribute to the altered bone metabolism and immune regulation in females. To effectively identify and validate sex-specific biomarkers, there is a need to prioritize sex as a biological variable in future research. Adopting such an approach should enhance more personalized therapeutic strategies and improve management for male and female patients with psoriatic disease and SpA.
银屑病和脊柱关节炎(SpA),包括银屑病关节炎(PsA),是影响皮肤和肌肉骨骼系统的免疫介导的炎症性疾病。患有银屑病和SpA的男性和女性患者在临床表现、疾病进展和治疗反应方面存在差异。导致这些性别差异的潜在生物学机制仍知之甚少。本综述探讨了银屑病、PsA和SpA中生物标志物和生物学途径的性别相关差异的现有证据。虽然尚未验证出确凿的性别特异性生物标志物,但本综述强调了生物标志物和生物学途径中的几个性别相关差异,包括骨转换标志物、IL-23/IL-17途径活性、促炎细胞因子以及心脏代谢谱的差异,这些差异可能部分导致了男性和女性患者之间观察到的临床差异。性激素可能导致女性骨代谢和免疫调节的改变。为了有效地识别和验证性别特异性生物标志物,有必要在未来的研究中将性别作为一个生物学变量进行优先考虑。采用这种方法应能加强更个性化的治疗策略,并改善对患有银屑病和SpA的男性和女性患者的管理。