Sex steroids and the immune system

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-8561(02)00017-6Get rights and content

Section snippets

Normal immune response

A number of aspects of immune responsiveness differ between males and females. This observation is true in many species, including humans, and applies to humoral and cellular responses. Women have higher plasma immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG levels than do men [3]. The most prominent difference in humoral immunity is seen in the plasma IgM levels, and this difference becomes most significant at puberty. Plasma IgG levels are also higher in women, although some studies failed to show a

Effects of sex steroids on immune function

The observed sexual dimorphism in immune response and autoimmune disorders led to in vitro and in vivo studies investigating the effects of sex steroids on these processes. In the last 30 years, thousands of studies were conducted on this subject, including: (1) descriptional studies in humans that investigated the changes in immune response and autoimmune disease activity during physiologic states associated with altered hormonal status such as pregnancy and puberty, (2) animal studies that

Summary

Immune responsiveness and susceptibility to infections and autoimmune disorders suggest sexual dimorphism. Women have higher immune reactivity, resulting in better protection against infections but a predisposition to autoimmune diseases. Evidence suggests that sex steroids mediate the sexual dimorphism in immune response.

Estrogens induce thymic atrophy and alter the proportion of thymic cells, promoting an increase in the CD4+:CD8+ ratio. In the periphery, they enhance helper and inducer

First page preview

First page preview
Click to open first page preview

References (190)

  • I. Screpanti et al.

    In vivo mdulation of the distrubution of thymocyte subsets: effects of estrogen on the expression of different T cell receptor V β gene families in CD4- CD8- thymocytes

    Cell Immunol

    (1991)
  • B. Nilsson et al.

    Specific binding of 17 β-estradiol in the human thymus

    Am J Obstet Gynecol

    (1984)
  • S. Mosselman et al.

    ER β: identification and characterization of a novel human estrogen receptor

    FEBS Lett

    (1996)
  • S. Helgason et al.

    Estrogen replacement therapy and the mixed lymphocyte reaction

    Am J Obstet Gynecol

    (1981)
  • M.J. Myers et al.

    Estradiol-induced alteration in the immune system. II: Suppression of cellular immunity in the rat is not the result of direct estrogenic action

    Immunopharmacology

    (1986)
  • H. Kobayashi et al.

    Suppression of mixed lymphocyte reaction by progesterone and estradiol-17β

    Am J Obstet Gynecol

    (1979)
  • E. Baral et al.

    The influence of estradiol and tamoxifen on the mixed lymphocyte reaction in rats

    Immunopharmacology

    (1991)
  • N. Nilsson et al.

    Estrogen induces suppression of natural killer cell cytotoxicity and augmentation of polyclonal B cell activation

    Cell Immunol

    (1994)
  • S.A. Ahmed et al.

    Antibodies to cardiolipin in normal C57BL/6J mice: induction by estrogen but not dihydrotestesterone

    J Autoimmun

    (1993)
  • T. Kalland

    Exposure of neonatal female mice to diethylstilbestrol persistently impairs NK cell activitythrough reduction of effector cells at the bone marrow level

    Immunopharmacology

    (1984)
  • D.M. Callewaert et al.

    Hormone specific regulation of natural killer cells by cortisol: direct inactivation of the cytotoxic function of cloned human NK cells without an effect on cellular proliferation

    FEBS Lett

    (1991)
  • J. Uksila

    Human NK cell activity is not inhibited by pregnancy and cord serum factors and female steroid hormones in vitro

    J Reprod Immunol

    (1985)
  • K. Sorachi et al.

    Enhancing effect of 17 β-estradiol on human NK cell activity

    Immunol Lett

    (1993)
  • I. Ito et al.

    Physiological concentration of estradiol inhibits polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemotaxis via a receptor mediated system

    Life Sci

    (1995)
  • R.I. Baranao et al.

    Effects of sexual steroid hormones on the functionality of murine peritoneal macrophages

    Steroids

    (1991)
  • E. Seli et al.

    Estradiol regulates MCP-1 in human coronary artery endothelial cells: a mechanism for its anti-atherogenic effect

    Fertil Steril

    (2002)
  • A. Rogers et al.

    The effect of 17β-estradiol on production of cytokines in cultures of peripheral blood

    Bone

    (2001)
  • R.W. McMurray et al.

    Progesterone inhibits glucocorticoid-induced murine thymocyte apoptosis

    Int J Immunopharm

    (2000)
  • N. Talal et al.

    Immunomodulation by hormones-an area of growing importance

    J Rheumatol

    (1987)
  • A. Calzoari

    Rescherches experimentales sur un rapport probable entre la function du thymus et celle de testicules

    Arch Ital Biol

    (1898)
  • E.J. Giltay et al.

    In vivo effects of sex steroids on lymphocyte resposiveness and immunoglobulin levels in humans

    J Clin Endocrinol Metab

    (2000)
  • M. Butterworth et al.

    Influence of sex in immunoglobulin levels

    Nature

    (1967)
  • F.J. Grundbacher

    Human X chromosome carries quantitative genes for immunoglobulin M

    Science

    (1972)
  • M.A. Lichtman et al.

    The distribution of serum immunoglobulins, anti-γ-G globulins (“rheumatoid factors”)and antinuclear antibodies in White and Negro subjects in Evans County, Georgia

    Arthritis Rheum

    (1967)
  • R. Lorini et al.

    Immunoglobulin levels, T-cell markers, mitogen responsiveness and thymic hormone activity in Turner's syndrome

    Thymus

    (1983)
  • D. Eidinger et al.

    Studies of the regulatory effects of the sex hormones on antibody formation and stem cell differentiation

    J Exp Med

    (1972)
  • R.D. Inman

    Immunologic sex differences and female predominance in systemic lupus erytematosus

    Arthritis Rheum

    (1978)
  • J.E. Nagel et al.

    Enumeration of T lymphocyte subsets by monoclonal antibodies in young and aged humans

    J Immunol

    (1981)
  • A. Bizzarro et al.

    Influence of testosterone therapy on clinical and immunological features of autoimmune diseases associated with Klinefelter's syndrome

    J Clin Endocrinol Metab

    (1987)
  • Deaths: final data for 1997

    Natl Vital Stat Rep

    (1999)
  • Y. Yamamoto et al.

    Sex differences in host resistance to Mycobacterium marinum infection in mice

    Infect Immunol

    (1991)
  • R.G. Lahita

    The connective tissue diseases and the overall influence of gender [review]

    Int J Fertil Menopausal Stud

    (1996)
  • R.D. Inman et al.

    Systemic lupus erythematosus in men: genetic and endocrine features

    Arch Intern Med

    (1982)
  • J.R. Roubinian et al.

    Androgenic hormones modulate autoantibody responses and improve survival in murine lupus

    J Clin Invest

    (1977)
  • J.R. Roubinian et al.

    Effect of castration and sex hormone treatment on survival, anti-nucleic acid antibodies, and glomerulonephritis in NZB/NZWF1 mice

    J Exp Med

    (1978)
  • J.R. Roubinian et al.

    Delayed androgen treatment prolongs survival in murine lupus

    J Clin Invest

    (1979)
  • A.D. Steinberg et al.

    Effects of thymectomy or androgen administration upon the autoimmune disease of MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mice

    J Immunol

    (1980)
  • S. Vidal et al.

    (SWR x SJL)F1 mice: a new model of lupus-like disease

    J Exp Med

    (1994)
  • R.L. Wilder et al.

    Strain and sex variation in the susceptibility to streptococcal cell wall-induced polyarthritis in the rat

    Arthritis Rheum

    (1982)
  • A.C. Vendramini et al.

    Testosterone-induced suppression of autoimmune disease in lacrimal tissue of a mouse model (NZB/NZW F1) of Sjogren's syndrome

    Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

    (1991)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text