More than 1,000 genetic switches reveal why female immunity is different — SkimNews
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- Garvan Institute researchers, working with UNSW Sydney, identified more than 1,000 sex-specific genetic switches in immune cells, publishing the findings in The American Journal of Human Genetics.
- The team sequenced more than 1.25 million peripheral blood mononuclear cells from nearly 1,000 healthy participants in the OneK1K cohort using single-cell technology — the first study to investigate male–female immune differences at this resolution on such a large scale.
- Female immune cells showed greater activity in inflammatory pathways and higher proportions of B cells and regulatory T cells, while males had larger monocyte populations with gene activity focused on cell maintenance and protein production.
- The sex-specific genetic switches were concentrated on autosomes — non-sex chromosomes — contrary to researchers' expectations that X and Y chromosomes would drive most differences.
- Specific variants influenced the female-biased expression of two genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus, which the researchers said could help explain the disease's roughly 9-to-1 female-to-male ratio.
- Dr. Seyhan Yazar said the findings add strong evidence that autoimmune treatments may need to be tailored by sex rather than relying on the current one-size-fits-all approach.
Why it matters: The study directly links genetic control — not just hormones — to female autoimmune susceptibility, with lupus affecting up to 9 women per 1 man. Dr. Yazar and the senior authors are calling for sex-specific autoimmune treatments, a shift from the current one-size-fits-all approach that has historically relied on male study groups and may have masked the biological differences now identified.
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