Biology of Sex Differences最新文献

{"title":"Female-bias in systemic lupus erythematosus: How much is the X chromosome to blame?","authors":"Adriana A Vieira, Inês Almada-Correia, Joana Inácio, Patrícia Costa-Reis, S T da Rocha","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00650-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00650-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) is an immune-mediated disease associated with substantial medical burden. Notably, lupus exhibits a striking female bias, with women having significantly higher susceptibility compared to men, up to 14-fold higher in some ethnicities. Supernumerary X chromosome syndromes, like Klinefelter (XXY) and Triple X syndrome (XXX), also present higher SLE prevalence, whereas Turner syndrome (XO) displays lower prevalence. Taken together, SLE prevalence in different X chromosome dosage sceneries denotes a relationship between the number of X chromosomes and the risk of developing lupus. The dosage of X-linked genes, many of which play roles in the immune system, is compensated between males and females through the inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes in female cells. X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) initiates early in development with a random selection of which X chromosome to inactivate, a choice that is then epigenetically maintained in the daughter cells. This process is regulated by the X-Inactive-Specific Transcript (XIST), encoding for a long non-coding RNA, exclusively expressed from the inactive X chromosome (Xi). XIST interacts with various RNA binding proteins and chromatin modifiers to form a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex responsible for the transcriptional silencing and heterochromatinization of the Xi. This ensures stable silencing of most genes on the X chromosome, with only a few genes able to escape this process. Recent findings suggest that the molecular components involved in XCI, or their dysregulation, contribute to the pathogenesis of lupus. Indeed, nonrandom XCI, elevated gene escape from XCI, and the autoimmune potential of the XIST RNP complex have been suggested to contribute to auto-immune diseases, such as lupus. This review examines these current hypotheses concerning how this dosage compensation mechanism might impact the development of lupus, shedding light on potential mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of the disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"76"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11460073/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142387584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex differences in symptoms following the administration of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in children below 5 years of age in Germany (CoVacU5): a retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Jeanne Moor, Nicole Toepfner, Wolfgang C G von Meißner, Reinhard Berner, Matthias B Moor, Karolina Kublickiene, Christoph Strumann, Cho-Ming Chao","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00651-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00651-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sex differences exist not only in the efficacy but also in adverse event rates of many vaccines. Here we compared the safety of BNT162b2 vaccine administered off-label in female and male children younger than 5 years in Germany.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective cohort study, in which we performed a post-hoc analysis of a dataset collected through an authentication-based survey of individuals having registered children aged 0-<5 years for vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in six private practices and/or two lay person-initiated vaccination campaigns. We analyzed the safety profiles of the first 3 doses of 3-10 µg BNT162b2. Primary outcome was comparison in frequencies of 4 common post-vaccination symptom categories such as local, general, musculoskeletal symptoms and fever. Data were analyzed according to sex in bivariate analyses and regression models adjusting for age, weight, and dosage. Interaction between sex and BNT162b2 dosage was assessed. An active-comparator analysis was applied to compare post-vaccination symptoms after BNT162b2 versus non-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The dataset for the present analysis consisted of 7801 participants including 3842 females (49%) and 3977 males (51%) with an age of 3 years (median, interquartile: 2 years). Among individuals receiving 3 µg BNT162b2, no sex differences were noted, but after a first dose of 5-10 µg BNT162b2, local injection-site symptoms were more prevalent in girls compared to boys. In logistic regression, female sex was associated with higher odds of local symptoms, odds ratio (OR) of 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-1.55, p < 0.05) and general symptoms with OR 1.21 (95% CI: 1.01-1.44, p < 0.05). Following non-BNT162b2 childhood vaccinations, female sex was associated with a lower odds of post-vaccination musculoskeletal symptoms (OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.11-0.82, p < 0.05). An active comparator analysis between BNT162b2 and non-SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations revealed that female sex positively influenced the association between BNT162b2 vaccine type and musculoskeletal symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Sex differences exist in post-vaccination symptoms after BNT162b2 administration even in young children. These are of importance for the conception of approval studies, for post-vaccination monitoring and for future vaccination strategies (German Clinical Trials Register ID: DRKS00028759).</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"74"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11426002/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142340541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-dependent effects of acute stress and alcohol exposure during adolescence on mRNA expression of brain signaling systems involved in reward and stress responses in young adult rats.","authors":"Carlotta Gobbi, Laura Sánchez-Marín, María Flores-López, Dina Medina-Vera, Francisco Javier Pavón-Morón, Fernando Rodríguez de Fonseca, Antonia Serrano","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00649-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00649-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Adolescent stress and alcohol exposure increase the risk of maladaptive behaviors and mental disorders in adulthood, with distinct sex-specific differences. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these early events is crucial for developing targeted prevention and treatment strategies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Male and female Wistar rats were exposed to acute restraint stress and intermittent alcohol during adolescence. We assessed lasting effects on plasma corticosterone (CORT) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels, and mRNA expression of genes related to corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), corticoid, opioid, and arginine vasopressin systems in the amygdala and hypothalamus.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The main findings are as follows: (1) blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) increased after the final alcohol administration, but stressed males had lower BAC than non-stressed males; (2) Males gained significantly more weight than females; (3) Stressed females showed higher ACTH levels than non-stressed females, with no changes in males; (4) Stress increased CORT levels in males, while stressed, alcohol-treated females had lower CORT levels than non-stressed females; (5) CRH: Females had lower Crhr1 levels in the amygdala, while alcohol reduced Crhr2 levels in males but not females. Significant interactions among sex, stress, and alcohol were found in the hypothalamus, with distinct patterns between sexes; (6) NPY: In the amygdala, stress reduced Npy and Npy1r levels in males but increased them in females. Alcohol decreased Npy2r levels in males, with varied effects in females. Similar sex-specific patterns were observed in the hypothalamus; (7) Corticoid system: Stress and alcohol had complex, sex-dependent effects on Pomc, Nr3c1, and Nr3c2 in both brain regions; (8) Opioid receptors: Stress and alcohol blunted the elevated expression of Oprm1, Oprd1, and Oprk1 in the amygdala of males and the hypothalamus of females; (8) Vasopressin: Stress and alcohol interacted significantly to affect Avp and Avpr1a expression in the amygdala, with stronger effects in females. In the hypothalamus, alcohol increased Avp levels in females.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates that adolescent acute stress and alcohol exposure induce lasting, sex-specific alterations in systems involved in reward and stress responses. These findings emphasize the importance of considering sex differences in the prevention and management of HPA dysfunction and psychiatric disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"75"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11426001/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142340542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application and insights of targeted next-generation sequencing in a large cohort of 46,XY disorders of sex development in Chinese","authors":"Hongyu Chen, Guangjie Chen, Fengxia Li, Yong Huang, Linfeng Zhu, Yijun Zhao, Ziyi Jiang, Xiang Yan, Lan Yu","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00648-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00648-6","url":null,"abstract":"46,XY disorders of sex development (46,XY DSD) are characterized by incomplete masculinization of genitalia with reduced androgenization. Accurate clinical management remains challenging, especially based solely on physical examination. Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) with known pathogenic genes provides a powerful tool for diagnosis efficiency. This study aims to identify the prevalent genetic variants by targeted NGS technology and investigate the diagnostic rate in a large cohort of 46,XY DSD patients, with most of them presenting atypical phenotypes. Two different DSD panels were developed for sequencing purposes, targeting a cohort of 402 patients diagnosed with 46,XY DSD, who were recruited from the Department of Urology at Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (Hangzhou, China). The detailed clinical characteristics were evaluated, and peripheral blood was collected for targeted panels to find the patients’ variants. The clinical significance of these variants was annotated according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) guidelines. A total of 108 variants across 42 genes were found in 107 patients, including 46 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, with 45.7%(21/46) being novel. Among these genes, SRD5A2, AR, FGFR1, LHCGR, NR5A1, CHD7 were the most frequently observed. Besides, we also detected some uncommon causative genes like SOS1, and GNAS. Oligogenic variants were also identified in 9 patients, including several combinations PROKR2/FGFR1/CYP11B1, PROKR2/ATRX, PROKR2/AR, FGFR1/LHCGR/POR, FGFR1/NR5A1, GATA4/NR5A1, WNT4/AR, MAP3K1/FOXL2, WNT4/AR, and SOS1/FOXL2. The overall genetic diagnostic rate was 11.2%(45/402), with an additional 15.4% (62/402) having variants of uncertain significance. Additionally, trio/duo patients had a higher genetic diagnostic rate (13.4%) compared to singletons (8.6%), with a higher proportion of singletons (15.1%) presenting variants of uncertain significance. In conclusion, targeted gene panels identified pathogenic variants in a Chinese 46,XY DSD cohort, expanding the genetic understanding and providing evidence for known pathogenic genes’ involvement. 46,XY disorders of sex development (46,XY DSD) are conditions where individuals don’t fully develop male genitalia due to reduced androgen hormones. Diagnosing these conditions based only on physical exams is difficult. This study used advanced genetic testing called targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify common genetic variations in a large group of 46,XY DSD patients, many of whom had unusual symptoms. We examined 402 patients with DSD and a 46,XY karyotype, focusing on 142 candidate genes related to sex development. We found genetic variations in 107 patients, including 45 that were likely responsible for their condition. Some of these variations were new discoveries. The most commonly affected genes were SRD5A2, AR, FGFR1, LHCGR, NR5A1, CHD7. We also found that some patients had va","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"92 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142264192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-specific molecular signature of mouse podocytes in homeostasis and in response to pharmacological challenge with rapamycin","authors":"Ola Al-Diab, Christin Sünkel, Eric Blanc, Rusan Ali Catar, Muhammad Imtiaz Ashraf, Hongfan Zhao, Pinchao Wang, Markus M. Rinschen, Raphaela Fritsche-Guenther, Florian Grahammer, Sebastian Bachmann, Dieter Beule, Jennifer A. Kirwan, Nikolaus Rajewsky, Tobias B. Huber, Dennis Gürgen, Angelika Kusch","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00647-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00647-7","url":null,"abstract":"Sex differences exist in the prevalence and progression of major glomerular diseases. Podocytes are the essential cell-type in the kidney which maintain the physiological blood-urine barrier, and pathological changes in podocyte homeostasis are critical accelerators of impairment of kidney function. However, sex-specific molecular signatures of podocytes under physiological and stress conditions remain unknown. This work aimed at identifying sexual dimorphic molecular signatures of podocytes under physiological condition and pharmacologically challenged homeostasis with mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition. mTOR is a crucial regulator involved in a variety of physiological and pathological stress responses in the kidney and inhibition of this pathway may therefore serve as a general stress challenger to get fundamental insights into sex differences in podocytes. The genomic ROSAmT/mG-NPHS2 Cre mouse model was used which allows obtaining highly pure podocyte fractions for cell-specific molecular analyses, and vehicle or pharmacologic treatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin was performed for 3 weeks. Subsequently, deep RNA sequencing and proteomics were performed of the isolated podocytes to identify intrinsic sex differences. Studies were supplemented with metabolomics from kidney cortex tissues. Although kidney function and morphology remained normal in all experimental groups, RNA sequencing, proteomics and metabolomics revealed strong intrinsic sex differences in the expression levels of mitochondrial, translation and structural transcripts, protein abundances and regulation of metabolic pathways. Interestingly, rapamycin abolished prominent sex-specific clustering of podocyte gene expression and induced major changes only in male transcriptome. Several sex-biased transcription factors could be identified as possible upstream regulators of these sexually dimorphic responses. Concordant to transcriptomics, metabolomic changes were more prominent in males. Remarkably, high number of previously reported kidney disease genes showed intrinsic sexual dimorphism and/or different response patterns towards mTOR inhibition. Our results highlight remarkable intrinsic sex-differences and sex-specific response patterns towards pharmacological challenged podocyte homeostasis which might fundamentally contribute to sex differences in kidney disease susceptibilities and progression. This work provides rationale and an in-depth database for novel targets to be tested in specific kidney disease models to advance with sex-specific treatment strategies. The global burden of chronic kidney diseases is rapidly increasing and is projected to become the fifth most common cause of years of life lost worldwide by 2040. Sexual dimorphism in kidney diseases and transplantation is well known, yet sex-specific therapeutic strategies are still missing. One reason is the lack of knowledge due to the lack of inclusion of sex as a biological variable in study d","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"189 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142264193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: MetaFun: unveiling sex-based differences in multiple transcriptomic studies through comprehensive functional meta-analysis","authors":"Pablo Malmierca-Merlo, Rubén Sánchez-Garcia, Rubén Grillo-Risco, Irene Pérez-Díez, José F. Català-Senent, María de la Iglesia-Vayá, Marta R. Hidalgo, Francisco Garcia-Garcia","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00646-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00646-8","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Correction: Biol Sex Differ 15&lt;/b&gt;,&lt;b&gt; 66 (2024)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00640-0&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the funding statement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The original article [1] has been corrected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol data-track-component=\"outbound reference\" data-track-context=\"references section\"&gt;&lt;li data-counter=\"1.\"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Malmierca-Merlo P, Sánchez-Garcia R, Grillo-Risco R et al. MetaFun: unveiling sex-based differences in multiple transcriptomic studies through comprehensive functional meta-analysis. Biol Sex Differ. 2024;15:66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-024-00640-0&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;Download references&lt;svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" height=\"16\" role=\"img\" width=\"16\"&gt;&lt;use xlink:href=\"#icon-eds-i-download-medium\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\"&gt;&lt;/use&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Authors and Affiliations&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Computational Biomedicine Laboratory, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), Eduardo Primo Yúfera Street, 3, Valencia, 46012, Spain&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pablo Malmierca-Merlo, Rubén Sánchez-Garcia, Rubén Grillo-Risco, Irene Pérez-Díez, José F. Català-Senent, Marta R. Hidalgo &amp; Francisco Garcia-Garcia&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Biomedical Imaging Unit FISABIOCIPF, Fundación Para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, 46012, Spain&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Irene Pérez-Díez &amp; María de la Iglesia-Vayá&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Valencia (UV), BurjassotValencia, 46100, Spain&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Marta R. Hidalgo&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;span&gt;Authors&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Pablo Malmierca-Merlo&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Rubén Sánchez-Garcia&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Rubén Grillo-Risco&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Irene Pérez-Díez&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;José F. Català-Senent&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;María de la Iglesia-Vayá&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Marta R. Hidalgo&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Francisco Garcia-Garcia&lt;/span&gt;View author publications&lt;p&gt;You can also search for this author in &lt;span&gt;PubMed&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Google Scholar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Corresponding authors&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Correspondence to Marta R. Hidalgo or Francisco Garcia-Garcia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Publisher","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142182750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Histological observations and transcriptome analyses reveal the dynamic changes in the gonads of the blotched snakehead (Channa maculata) during sex differentiation and gametogenesis.","authors":"Xiaotian Zhang, Yuxia Wu, Yang Zhang, Jin Zhang, Pengfei Chu, Kunci Chen, Haiyang Liu, Qing Luo, Shuzhan Fei, Jian Zhao, Mi Ou","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00643-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13293-024-00643-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Blotched snakehead (Channa maculata) displays significant sexual dimorphism, with males exhibiting faster growth rates and larger body sizes compared to females. The cultivation of the all-male population of snakeheads holds substantial economic and ecological value. Nonetheless, the intricate processes governing the development of bipotential gonads into either testis or ovary in C. maculata remain inadequately elucidated. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the critical time window of sex differentiation in C. maculata, providing a theoretical basis for sex control in production practices.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The body length and weight of male and female C. maculata were measured at different developmental stages to reveal when sexual dimorphism in growth initially appears. Histological observations and spatiotemporal comparative transcriptome analyses were performed on ovaries and testes across various developmental stages to determine the crucial time windows for sex differentiation in each sex and the sex-related genes. Additionally, qPCR and MG2C were utilized to validate and locate sex-related genes, and levels of E₂ and T were quantified to understand sex steroid synthesis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sexual dimorphism in growth became evident starting from 90 dpf. Histological observations revealed that morphological sex differentiation in females and males occurred between 20 and 25 dpf or earlier and 30-35 dpf or earlier, respectively, corresponding to the appearance of the ovarian cavity or efferent duct anlage. Transcriptome analyses revealed divergent gene expression patterns in testes and ovaries after 30 dpf. The periods of 40-60 dpf and 60-90 dpf marked the initiation of molecular sex differentiation in females and males, respectively. Male-biased genes (Sox11a, Dmrt1, Amh, Amhr2, Gsdf, Ar, Cyp17a2) likely play crucial roles in male sex differentiation and spermatogenesis, while female-biased genes (Foxl2, Cyp19a1a, Bmp15, Figla, Er) could be pivotal in ovarian differentiation and development. Numerous biological pathways linked to sex differentiation and gametogenesis were also identified. Additionally, E₂ and T exhibited sexual dimorphism during sex differentiation and gonadal development. Based on these results, it is hypothesized that in C. maculata, the potential male sex differentiation pathway, Sox11a-Dmrt1-Sox9b, activates downstream sex-related genes (Amh, Amhr2, Gsdf, Ar, Cyp17a2) for testicular development, while the antagonistic pathway, Foxl2/Cyp19a1a, activates downstream sex-related genes (Bmp15, Figla, Er) for ovarian development.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides a comprehensive overview of gonadal dynamic changes during sex differentiation and gametogenesis in C. maculata, establishing a scientific foundation for sex control in this species.</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"70"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11380785/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142145031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-specific associations of Notch signaling with chronic HBV infection: a study from Taiwan Biobank.","authors":"I-An Jen, Terry B J Kuo, Yung-Po Liaw","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00641-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13293-024-00641-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hepatitis B, a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), can develop into a chronic infection that puts patients at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the difference of reactome pre-Notch expression and processing between males and females by using gene to function analysis in FUMA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed Taiwan Biobank (TWB) data pertaining to 48,874 women and 23,178 men individuals which were collected from 2008 to 2019. According to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status in hematology, positive and negative were classified into case and control in the genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found 4715 women and 2656 men HBV cases. The genomic risk loci were different between males and females. In male, three risk loci (rs3732421, rs1884575 and Affx-28516147) were detected while eight risk loci (Affx-4564106, rs932745, rs7574865, rs34050244, rs77041685, rs107822, rs2296651 and rs12599402) were found in female. In addition, sex also presented different results. In females, the most significant SNPs are gathered in chromosome 6. However, except for chromosome 6, significant HBV infection SNPs also could be found in chromosome 3 among males. We further investigated gene function in FUMA to identify the difference in reactome pre-Notch expression and processing between males and females. We found that POGLUT1 and HIST1H2BC only appeared in men but not in women.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>According to our study, the reactome pre-Notch expression including POGLUT1 and HIST1H2BC was associated with a risk of Hepatitis B in Taiwanese men when compared to women.</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"69"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11378497/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142139213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex specific analysis of patients with and without reported statin intolerance referred to a specialized outpatient lipid clinic.","authors":"Maximilian A Muck, Marcus Fischer, Michael Hamerle, Christina Strack, Maxime Holzhaeuer, Dennis Pfeffer, Ute Hubauer, Lars S Maier, Andrea Baessler","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00642-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13293-024-00642-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Lowering LDL-cholesterol is a fundamental goal for both primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Our study aims to analyse potential sex disparities regarding the tolerability and effectiveness of lipid-lowering therapy in patients with and without reported statin intolerance who are being treated at a lipid-outpatient clinic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>From 2017 to 2022, n = 1062 patients (n = 612 men, n = 450 women) at high-risk were referred to our lipid-outpatient clinic because of difficulties in lipid control by primary healthcare providers. The main therapeutic objective was to optimize lipid-lowering therapy according to current treatment guidelines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients presented with high LDL-C baseline levels (4.97 ± 1.81 mmol/l (192 ± 70 mg/dL) in men and 5.46 ± 2.04 mmol/l (211 ± 79 mg/dL) in women). Intolerance towards statins was reported more frequently by women (48.2%) than by men (38.9%, p = 0.004). LDL-C continuously decreased with individual treatment adjustments across follow-up visits. In total, treatment goals (LDL < 1.4 mmol/l (< 55 mg/dl) or < 1.8 mmol/l (< 70 mg/dl)) were accomplished in 75.8% of men and 55.5% of women after the last follow-up visit (p < 0.0001). In men, these data are almost identical in subjects with statin intolerance. In contrast, treatment goals were reached less frequently in women with statin intolerance compared to women tolerant to statin therapy.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Even if treated in a specialized lipid clinic, women are less likely to reach their target LDL-C than men, particularly when statin intolerant. Nevertheless, many patients with statin intolerance can be successfully treated using oral combination and PCSK9 inhibitor therapy. However, ongoing follow-up care to monitor progress and to adjust treatment plans is necessary to reach this goal.</p>","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"67"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11367976/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142118909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Whole-genome de novo sequencing reveals genomic variants associated with differences of sex development in SRY negative pigs.","authors":"Jinhua Wu, Shuwen Tan, Zheng Feng, Haiquan Zhao, Congying Yu, Yin Yang, Bingzhou Zhong, Wenxiao Zheng, Hui Yu, Hua Li","doi":"10.1186/s13293-024-00644-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13293-024-00644-w","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Differences of sex development (DSD) are congenital conditions in which chromosomal, gonadal, or phenotypic sex is atypical. In more than 50% of human DSD cases, a molecular diagnosis is not available. In intensively farmed pig populations, the incidence of XX DSD pigs is relatively high, leading to economic losses for pig breeders. Interestingly, in the majority of 38, XX DSD pigs, gonads still develop into testis-like structures or ovotestes despite the absence of the testis-determining gene (SRY). However, the current understanding of the molecular background of XX DSD pigs remains limited.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Anatomical and histological characteristics of XX DSD pigs were analysed using necropsy and HE staining. We employed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) with 10× Genomics technology and used de novo assembly methodology to study normal female and XX DSD pigs. Finally, the identified variants were validated in 32 XX DSD pigs, and the expression levels of the candidate variants in the gonads of XX DSD pigs were further examined.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;XX DSD pigs are characterised by the intersex reproductive organs and the absence of germ cells in the seminiferous tubules of the gonads. We identified 4,950 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from non-synonymous mutations in XX DSD pigs. Cohort validation results highlighted two specific SNPs, \"c.218T &gt; C\" in the \"Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1 gene (IFITM1)\" and \"c.1043C &gt; G\" in the \"Newborn ovary homeobox gene (NOBOX)\", which were found exclusively in XX DSD pigs. Moreover, we verified 14 candidate structural variants (SVs) from 1,474 SVs, identifying a 70 bp deletion fragment in intron 5 of the WW domain-containing oxidoreductase gene (WWOX) in 62.5% of XX DSD pigs. The expression levels of these three candidate genes in the gonads of XX DSD pigs were significantly different from those of normal female pigs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;The nucleotide changes of IFITM1 (c.218T &gt; C), NOBOX (c.1043 C &gt; G), and a 70 bp deletion fragment of the WWOX were the most dominant variants among XX DSD pigs. This study provides a theoretical basis for better understanding the molecular background of XX DSD pigs. DSD are conditions affecting development of the gonads or genitalia. These disorders can happen in many different types of animals, including pigs, goats, dogs, and people. In people, DSD happens in about 0.02-0.13% of births, and in pigs, the rate is between 0.08% and 0.75%. Pigs have a common type of DSD where the animal has female chromosomes (38, XX) but no SRY gene, which is usually found on the Y chromosome in males. XX DSD pigs may look like both males and females on the outside and have testis-like or ovotestis (a mix of ovary and testis) gonads inside. XX DSD pigs often lead to not being able to have piglets, slower growth, lower chance of survival, and poorer meat quality. Here, we used a method called whole-genome","PeriodicalId":8890,"journal":{"name":"Biology of Sex Differences","volume":"15 1","pages":"68"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11367908/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142118910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}