Articles

Sex differences in primary hypertension

Men have higher blood pressure than women through much of life regardless of race and ethnicity. This is a robust and highly conserved sex difference that it is also observed across species including dogs, rat...

Authors: Kathryn Sandberg and Hong Ji

BMPR2 expression is suppressed by signaling through the estrogen receptor

Studies in multiple organ systems have shown cross-talk between signaling through the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) and estrogen pathways. In humans, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) ...

Authors: Eric D Austin, Rizwan Hamid, Anna R Hemnes, James E Loyd, Tom Blackwell, Chang Yu, John A Phillips III, Radhika Gaddipati, Santhi Gladson, Everett Gu, James West and Kirk B Lane

Effects of blocking developmental cell death on sexually dimorphic calbindin cell groups in the preoptic area and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

Calbindin-D28 has been used as a marker for the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA). Males have a distinct cluster of calbindin-immunoreactive (ir) cells in the medial preoptic area (CALB...

Authors: Richard F Gilmore, Megan M Varnum and Nancy G Forger

Oral contraceptives modify DNA methylation and monocyte-derived macrophage function

Fertile women may be encouraged to use contraception during clinical trials to avoid potential drug effects on fetuses. However, hormonal contraception interferes with pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and...

Authors: Ilaria Campesi, Manuela Sanna, Angelo Zinellu, Ciriaco Carru, Laura Rubattu, Pamela Bulzomi, Giuseppe Seghieri, Giancarlo Tonolo, Mario Palermo, Giuseppe Rosano, Maria Marino and Flavia Franconi

Why does Jack, and not Jill, break his crown? Sex disparity in brain tumors

It is often reported that brain tumors occur more frequently in males, and that males suffer a worse outcome from brain tumors than females. If correct, these observations suggest that sex plays a fundamental ...

Authors: Tao Sun, Nicole M Warrington and Joshua B Rubin

Influence of ERβ selective agonism during the neonatal period on the sexual differentiation of the rat hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis

It is well established that sexual differentiation of the rodent hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is principally orchestrated by estrogen during the perinatal period. Here we sought to better characte...

Authors: Heather B Patisaul, Sandra M Losa-Ward, Karina L Todd, Katherine A McCaffrey and Jillian A Mickens

Alterations in vasomotor systems and mechanics of resistance-sized mesenteric arteries from SHR and WKY male rats following in vivo testosterone manipulation

Testosterone (T) and the sympathetic nervous system each contribute to the pathology of hypertension. Altered blood vessel reactivity is also associated with the pathology of high blood pressure. The purpose o...

Authors: Jonathan D Toot, John J Reho, Rolando J Ramirez, Jacqueline Novak and Daniel L Ely

Strategies and methods to study sex differences in cardiovascular structure and function: a guide for basic scientists

Cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of death worldwide. In the US, deaths due to cardiovascular disease for women exceed those of men. While cultural and psychosocial factors such as education, ec...

Authors: Virginia M Miller, Jay R Kaplan, Nicholas J Schork, Pamela Ouyang, Sarah L Berga, Nanette K Wenger, Leslee J Shaw, R Clinton Webb, Monica Mallampalli, Meir Steiner, Doris A Taylor, C Noel Bairey Merz and Jane F Reckelhoff

Interference of kallikrein 1b26 (klk1b26) translation by microRNA specifically expressed in female mouse submandibular glands: an additional mechanism for sexual dimorphism of klk1b26 protein in the glands

Mouse kallikrein 1b26 (klk1b26) protein is more abundant in male submandibular glands (SMGs) than in female ones. This sexual dimorphism has been thought to be due to increased mRNA synthesis stimulated by and...

Authors: Kinji Kurihara, Nobuo Nakanishi and Akito Tomomura

Women with knee osteoarthritis have more pain and poorer function than men, but similar physical activity prior to total knee replacement

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a major clinical problem affecting a greater proportion of women than men. Women generally report higher pain intensity at rest and greater perceived functional deficits than men....

Authors: Shalome M Tonelli, Barbara A Rakel, Nicholas A Cooper, Whitney L Angstom and Kathleen A Sluka

Reporting of sex as a variable in cardiovascular studies using cultured cells

Chromosomal complement, including that provided by the sex chromosomes, influences expression of proteins and molecular signaling in every cell. However, less than 50% of the scientific studies published in 20...

Authors: K Efua Taylor, Catalina Vallejo-Giraldo, Niccole S Schaible, Rosita Zakeri and Virginia M Miller

Cyclin D1 expression in colorectal cancer is a favorable prognostic factor in men but not in women in a prospective, population-based cohort study

Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is generally not considered to be a hormone-dependent malignancy, several sex-related differences in incidence, molecular characteristics and survival have been reported. Epide...

Authors: Sakarias Wangefjord, Jonas Manjer, Alexander Gaber, Björn Nodin, Jakob Eberhard and Karin Jirström

Sex differences in resting hemodynamics and arterial stiffness following 4 weeks of resistance versus aerobic exercise training in individuals with pre-hypertension to stage 1 hypertension

Hypertension (HTN) exhibits sexual dimorphism; the incidence for women surpasses men during the sixth decade of life, while the pharmacological treatments are less effective and produce more side-effects in wo...

Authors: Scott R Collier, Vincent Frechette, Kathryn Sandberg, Patrick Schafer, Hong Ji, Harold Smulyan and Bo Fernhall

Sex chromosome complement contributes to sex differences in coxsackievirus B3 but not influenza A virus pathogenesis

Both coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) and influenza A virus (IAV; H1N1) produce sexually dimorphic infections in C57BL/6 mice. Gonadal steroids can modulate sex differences in response to both viruses. Here, the effec...

Authors: Dionne P Robinson, Sally A Huber, Mohamad Moussawi, Brian Roberts, Cory Teuscher, Rebecca Watkins, Arthur P Arnold and Sabra L Klein

Sex differences in the inflammatory response of primary astrocytes to lipopolysaccharide

Numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders show sex differences in incidence, age of onset, symptomatology or outcome. Astrocytes, one of the glial cell types of the brain, show sex differences in number,...

Authors: María Santos-Galindo, Estefanía Acaz-Fonseca, María J Bellini and Luis M Garcia-Segura

Ovariectomy and overeating palatable, energy-dense food increase subcutaneous adipose tissue more than intra-abdominal adipose tissue in rats

Menopause is associated with increased adiposity, especially increased deposition of intra-abdominal (IA) adipose tissue (AT). This differs from common or 'dietary' obesity, i.e., obesity apparently due to env...

Authors: Viktoria Gloy, Wolfgang Langhans, Jacquelien JG Hillebrand, Nori Geary and Lori Asarian

Normal sex differences in prenatal growth and abnormal prenatal growth retardation associated with 46,XY disorders of sex development are absent in newborns with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is the most common presentation of a disorder of sex development (DSD) in genetic females. A report of prenatal growth retardation in cases of 46...

Authors: Laura J Chalmers, Paul Doherty, Claude J Migeon, Kenneth C Copeland, Brianna C Bright and Amy B Wisniewski

Tempests and tales: challenges to the study of sex differences in the brain

Authors: Margaret M McCarthy and Gregory F Ball

Effects of a selectively bred novelty-seeking phenotype on the motivation to take cocaine in male and female rats

Gender and enhanced novelty reactivity can predispose certain individuals to drug abuse. Previous research in male and female rats selectively bred for high or low locomotor reactivity to novelty found that br...

Authors: Jennifer A Cummings, Brooke A Gowl, Christel Westenbroek, Sarah M Clinton, Huda Akil and Jill B Becker

The innate immune response to coxsackievirus B3 predicts progression to cardiovascular disease and heart failure in male mice

Men are at an increased risk of dying from heart failure caused by inflammatory heart diseases such as atherosclerosis, myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We previously showed that macrophages in th...

Authors: Jennifer A Onyimba, Michael J Coronado, Amanda E Garton, Joseph B Kim, Adriana Bucek, Djahida Bedja, Kathleen L Gabrielson, Tomas R Guilarte and DeLisa Fairweather

Sex differences in autoimmune diseases

Women are more susceptible to a variety of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), primary biliary cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis...

Authors: Rhonda Voskuhl

A developmental sex difference in hippocampal neurogenesis is mediated by endogenous oestradiol

Oestradiol is a steroid hormone that exerts extensive influence on brain development and is a powerful modulator of hippocampal structure and function. The hippocampus is a critical brain region regulating com...

Authors: J Michael Bowers, Jaylyn Waddell and Margaret M McCarthy

Sex differences in hypothalamic astrocyte response to estradiol stimulation

Reproductive functions controlled by the hypothalamus are highly sexually differentiated. One of the most dramatic differences involves estrogen positive feedback, which leads to ovulation. A crucial feature o...

Authors: John Kuo, Naheed Hamid, Galyna Bondar, Phoebe Dewing, Jenny Clarkson and Paul Micevych

Sex differences in renal angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) activity are 17β-oestradiol-dependent and sex chromosome-independent

Angotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a newly discovered monocarboxypeptidase that counteracts the vasoconstrictor effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) by converting Ang II to Ang-(1-7) in the kidney and othe...

Authors: Jun Liu, Hong Ji, Wei Zheng, Xie Wu, Janet J Zhu, Arthur P Arnold and Kathryn Sandberg

The impact of sex, gender and pregnancy on 2009 H1N1 disease

Children and young adults of reproductive age have emerged as groups that are highly vulnerable to the current 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The sex of an individual is a fundamental factor that can influence exposure, ...

Authors: Sabra L Klein, Catherine Passaretti, Martha Anker, Peju Olukoya and Andrew Pekosz

Sex dependent regulation of osteoblast response to implant surface properties by systemic hormones

Osseointegration depends on the implant surface, bone quality and the local and systemic host environment, which can differ in male and female patients. This study was undertaken in order to determine if male ...

Authors: Rene Olivares-Navarrete, Sharon L Hyzy, Reyhaan A Chaudhri, Ge Zhao, Barbara D Boyan and Zvi Schwartz

Expression and localization of forkhead transcriptional factor 2 (Foxl2) in the gonads of protogynous wrasse, Halichoeres trimaculatus

Three-spot wrasse, Halichoeres trimaculatus, is a marine protogynous hermaphrodite fish. Individuals mature either as initial phase (IP) males or females. Appropriate social cues induce the sex change from IP fem...

Authors: Yasuhisa Kobayashi, Ryo Horiguchi, Ryo Nozu and Masaru Nakamura

Sex-specific modification of progesterone receptor expression by 17β-oestradiol in human cardiac tissues

Although circulating levels of sexual hormones in elderly men and women are low and quite similar, the adaptation of the elderly heart to stress differs between the sexes. We have hypothesized that the effects...

Authors: Georgios Kararigas, Eva Becher, Shokoufeh Mahmoodzadeh, Christoph Knosalla, Roland Hetzer and Vera Regitz-Zagrosek

Promoting the understanding of sex differences to enhance equity and excellence in biomedical science

Authors: Arthur P Arnold