Association between fetal sex and maternal plasma microRNA responses to prenatal alcohol exposure: evidence from a birth outcome-stratified cohort
We reported that maternal miRNAs predicted FASD-related growth and psychomotor deficits in infants. Here, we assessed whether fetal sex influenced alterations in maternal circulating miRNAs following prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). To overcome the loss of statistical power due to disaggregating maternal samples by fetal sex, we adapted a strategy of iterative bootstrap resampling with replacement to assess the stability of statistical parameter estimates. Bootstrap estimates of parametric and effect size tests identified male and female fetal sex-associated maternal miRNA responses to PAE that were not observed in the agg...
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - September 9, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Mechanisms of sex hormones in autoimmunity: focus on EAE
AbstractSex-related differences in the occurrence of autoimmune diseases is well documented, with females showing a greater propensity to develop these diseases than their male counterparts. Sex hormones, namely dihydrotestosterone and estrogens, have been shown to ameliorate the severity of inflammatory diseases. Immunologically, the beneficial effects of sex hormones have been ascribed to the suppression of effector lymphocyte responses accompanied by immune deviation from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokine production. In this review, we present our view of the mechanisms of sex hormones that contribute to th...
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - September 6, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Sex differences in brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis
ConclusionMore regional GM atrophy was observed in men with MS than women with MS, consistent with previous observations that male sex is a risk factor for worse disease progression. (Source: Biology of Sex Differences)
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - August 27, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Hypogonadal hypertension in male Sprague-Dawley rats is renin-angiotensin system-dependent: role of endogenous androgens
ConclusionsThis is the first study to examine the long-term effects of endogenous and exogenous androgens on BP in male SD and Tfm rats. These data reveal that endogenous androgens (TES) exert anti-hypertensive effects that appear to involve non-genomic and possibly genomic mechanism(s), resulting in reductions in RAS expression in the kidney and enhanced systemic vasodilation. (Source: Biology of Sex Differences)
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - August 25, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Sex differences in circulating proteins in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
ConclusionIn chronic HFpEF, assessing sex differences in a wide range of circulating proteins led to the identification of 9 proteins that were differentially expressed between female and male patients. These findings may help further investigations into potential pathophysiological processes contributing to HFpEF. (Source: Biology of Sex Differences)
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - August 23, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
