A Role for Sex Chromosome Complement in the Female Bias in Autoimmune Disease

Overview

Journal J Exp Med

Specialties Allergy & Immunology
General Medicine

Date 2008 Apr 30

PMID 18443225

Citations 194

Authors

Deborah L Smith-Bouvier

Anagha A Divekar

Manda Sasidhar

Sienmi Du

Seema K Tiwari-Woodruff

Jennifer K King

Arthur P Arnold

Ram Raj Singh

Rhonda R Voskuhl

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Most autoimmune diseases are more common in women than in men. This may be caused by differences in sex hormones, sex chromosomes, or both. In this study, we determined if there was a contribution of sex chromosomes to sex differences in susceptibility to two immunologically distinct disease models, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and pristane-induced lupus. Transgenic SJL mice were created to permit a comparison between XX and XY within a common gonadal type. Mice of the XX sex chromosome complement, as compared with XY, demonstrated greater susceptibility to both EAE and lupus. This is the first evidence that the XX sex chromosome complement, as compared with XY, confers greater susceptibility to autoimmune disease.

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