Masculinity and immune system efficacy in men.

PLoS One

Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.

Published: February 2021

Masculinity-related morphological traits are supposed to be honest indicators of a man's biological quality. While some studies showed that sexually dimorphic traits are related to various aspects of biological condition such as general health, immunity or fertility, still little is known about the relationship between masculine traits and the effectiveness of innate and adaptive immunity in humans. The aim of this study was to see if masculine traits, which are dependent on androgen levels in foetal and pubertal stages of development, are related to the immune quality in healthy men. The immune quality was evaluated for 91 healthy men aged 19-36 years. Immunity measurements included innate and adaptive parameters. General health status, age, testosterone level, BMI, physical activity, and smoking were controlled. The shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR), 2D:4D digit ratio and hand-grip strength (HGS) were used as markers of masculinization. The regressions showed that when controlling for confounds, masculinity-related traits were in general not related to innate and adaptive immunity. Only a weak association was observed for right 2D:4D ratio and T-lymphocyte counts (but it becomes non-significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons). Our results do not support the premise that masculinity is a cue for immunological quality in men. However, the positive association between right 2D:4D and T lymphocytes might suggest that further studies are needed to verify if androgen stimulation in prenatal development might be related to immunity in adulthood.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735617PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243777PLOS

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

innate adaptive
12
general health
8
masculine traits
8
adaptive immunity
8
immune quality
8
healthy men
8
traits
5
immunity
5
masculinity immune
4
immune system
4

Similar Publications

The role of PPAR in fungal keratitis.

Front Immunol

December 2024

Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

The treatment of fungal keratitis(FK) remains challenging due to delayed fungal detection and the limited effectiveness of antifungal drugs. Fungal infection can activate both innate and adaptive immune responses in the cornea. Fungi stimulate the production of oxidative stress-related biomarkers and mediate the infiltration of neutrophils, macrophages, and T cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Monoclonal antibodies enhance innate immunity, while bispecific T cell engager antibodies redirect adaptive T cell immunity. To stimulate both innate and adaptive mechanisms, we created a bifunctional eCD16A/anti-CD3-BFP adapter protein for combined use with clinically approved monoclonal IgG1 antibodies. The adaptor protein contains the extracellular domain of the human CD16A high-affinity variant, which binds the Fc domain of IgG1 antibodies, and an anti-human CD3 single-chain variable fragment that redirects T cell cytotoxicity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A MACPF Protein OsCAD1 Balances Plant Growth and Immunity Through Regulating Salicylic Acid Homeostasis in Rice.

Plant Cell Environ

January 2025

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Key Laboratory for Zhejiang Super Rice Research, China National Center for Rice Improvement, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Unraveling the mechanisms behind plant growth and immunity contributes to effective crop improvement. Membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domain proteins play vital roles in innate and adaptive immunity in vertebrates; however, their molecular functions in plants remain largely unexplored. Here, we isolated and characterized a rice mutant, Oryza sativa constitutively activated cell death 1 (oscad1), which exhibited a lesion mimic phenotype and growth inhibition with increased cell death, elevated ROS accumulation, and enhanced resistance to bacterial blight Xanthomonas oryzae pv.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

MAIT cells modulating the oral lichen planus immune microenvironment: a cellular crosstalk perspective.

Inflamm Res

January 2025

Departments of Oral Medicine, Stomatological Hospital, School of Stomatology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, a type of T lymphocytes with innate-like characteristics, are crucial in bridging innate and adaptive immunity. When activated, MAIT cells release various inflammatory molecules and swiftly respond to antigens. Notably, numerous studies highlight the significant impact of MAIT cells on tumors and various immune disorders by influencing the immune microenvironment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Human papillomavirus 16 and human papillomavirus 18 have been associated with different life-threatening cancers, including cervical, lung, penal, vulval, vaginal, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers, while cervical cancer is the most prominent one. Several research studies have suggested that the oncoproteins E6 and E7 are the leading cause of cancers associated with the human papillomavirus infection. Therefore, we developed two mRNA vaccines (V1 and V2) targeting these oncoproteins.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!