Feb 06, 2018 20:30:00

The reason why autoimmune diseases are more common in women can be explained by 'male hormones'

By

ksk33t

Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis are diseases in which the immune system, which originally protects the body from foreign invaders, attacks the own body. The incidence of this disease differs between women and men, with women being up to nine times more likely to develop it than men. Researchers at Northwestern University have identified the mechanism behind the difference in incidence. In addition, as a result of this achievement, two drugs effective for the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis have been developed and are on the way to certification, the technology news site Ars Technica reported.

Male-specific IL-33 expression regulates sex-dimorphic EAE susceptibility | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/01/25/1710401115

Testosterone may protect men from autoimmune diseases | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/02/testosterone-may-protect-men-from-autoimmune-diseases/

The incidence of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis differs between women and men, with women 3 to 9 times more likely to develop the disease than men, and the incidence of onset at a younger age than men. Experiments give almost the same results.

It was known that this phenomenon was related to `` testosterone ,'' a hormone secreted in large quantities from the prostate and testicles that gives men beards, muscles, and chest hair, or ``masculinity.'' 'Will I do so?' remained a mystery.

By

Billy Wilson

Researchers from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have solved this mystery of testosterone. Experiments on mice with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, revealed that when mast cells in male mice get close to testosterone, they suppress inflammation by secreting the transmission protein cytokine. discovered by researchers.

By Salt of Life

The secretion of ``cytokines'' by mast cells is the key to autoimmune disease treatment, and conversely, mice with few mast cells did not secrete cytokines, so inflammation did not subside. Two drugs made with this mechanism in mind are on the way to approval, and the drug is said to be able to 'induce the immune system's T cells to suppress inflammation' rather than attack the body. About.

The key cytokine in this disease is the signaling protein IL-33 , and testosterone is thought to encourage mast cells to produce IL-33.