Investigating sex differences in inflammation and metabolism relevant for autoimmune disease susceptibility

Female sex bias associated with inflammation has been observed in the context of multiple autoimmune conditions, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren Disease, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), indicating that sex hormones and/or sex chromosomes may play a role in these immunological dimorphisms associated with disease risks. Sex hormones such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone signal via receptors expressed on various immune cells, impacting their phenotype, metabolism and function.
Type-1 interferon and toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways involved in immune activation have been linked to both estrogen and progesterone signalling, whilst testosterone has been shown to influence T-helper 1 cell responses in diseases such as SLE.