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Minipuberty and Sexual Dimorphism in the Infant Human Thymus

AIRE expression in thymus is downregulated by estrogen after puberty, what probably renders women more susceptible to autoimmune disorders. Here we investigated the effects of minipuberty on male and female infant human thymic tissue in order to verify if this initial transient increase in sex hormo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Moreira-Filho, Carlos Alberto, Bando, Silvia Yumi, Bertonha, Fernanda Bernardi, Ferreira, Leandro Rodrigues, Vinhas, Christiana de Freitas, Oliveira, Lucila Habib Bourguignon, Zerbini, Maria Claudia Nogueira, Furlanetto, Glaucio, Chaccur, Paulo, Carneiro-Sampaio, Magda
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6120939/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30177771
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31583-3
Descripción
Sumario:AIRE expression in thymus is downregulated by estrogen after puberty, what probably renders women more susceptible to autoimmune disorders. Here we investigated the effects of minipuberty on male and female infant human thymic tissue in order to verify if this initial transient increase in sex hormones - along the first six months of life - could affect thymic transcriptional network regulation and AIRE expression. Gene co-expression network analysis for differentially expressed genes and miRNA-target analysis revealed sex differences in thymic tissue during minipuberty, but such differences were not detected in the thymic tissue of infants aged 7–18 months, i.e. the non-puberty group. AIRE expression was essentially the same in both sexes in minipuberty and in non-puberty groups, as assessed by genomic and immunohistochemical assays. However, AIRE-interactors networks showed several differences in all groups regarding gene-gene expression correlation. Therefore, minipuberty and genomic mechanisms interact in shaping thymic sexual dimorphism along the first six months of life.