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Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels

Background: It has been shown that sex affects immunity, including cytokine production. Given that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease promoted by specific cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, we aimed at evaluating whether sex could affect the leve...

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Autores principales: Bernardi, Stella, Toffoli, Barbara, Tonon, Federica, Francica, Morena, Campagnolo, Elena, Ferretti, Tommaso, Comar, Sarah, Giudici, Fabiola, Stenner, Elisabetta, Fabris, Bruno
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7311959/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32485823
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21113861
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author Bernardi, Stella
Toffoli, Barbara
Tonon, Federica
Francica, Morena
Campagnolo, Elena
Ferretti, Tommaso
Comar, Sarah
Giudici, Fabiola
Stenner, Elisabetta
Fabris, Bruno
author_facet Bernardi, Stella
Toffoli, Barbara
Tonon, Federica
Francica, Morena
Campagnolo, Elena
Ferretti, Tommaso
Comar, Sarah
Giudici, Fabiola
Stenner, Elisabetta
Fabris, Bruno
author_sort Bernardi, Stella
collection PubMed
description Background: It has been shown that sex affects immunity, including cytokine production. Given that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease promoted by specific cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, we aimed at evaluating whether sex could affect the levels of these proatherogenic cytokines in a group of healthy adults. In this analysis, we also included other cytokines and peptides that have been implicated in atherosclerosis development and progression. Methods: A total of 104 healthy adults were recruited; we measured circulating levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, angiotensins and angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), as well as osteoprotegerin and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). Results: IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly higher in men as compared to women. They were all associated with testosterone and the testosterone/estradiol ratio. They remained significantly associated with sex (but not with hormones) after being tested for potential confounders. Conclusions: Sex seems to influence the levels of proatherogenic cytokines. This is consistent not only with sex differences in vulnerability to infections but also with the higher cardiovascular risk exhibited by the male gender as compared to the female gender. Nevertheless, this association is only partly explained by hormone levels.
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spelling pubmed-73119592020-06-25 Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels Bernardi, Stella Toffoli, Barbara Tonon, Federica Francica, Morena Campagnolo, Elena Ferretti, Tommaso Comar, Sarah Giudici, Fabiola Stenner, Elisabetta Fabris, Bruno Int J Mol Sci Article Background: It has been shown that sex affects immunity, including cytokine production. Given that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease promoted by specific cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, we aimed at evaluating whether sex could affect the levels of these proatherogenic cytokines in a group of healthy adults. In this analysis, we also included other cytokines and peptides that have been implicated in atherosclerosis development and progression. Methods: A total of 104 healthy adults were recruited; we measured circulating levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, angiotensins and angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), as well as osteoprotegerin and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). Results: IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly higher in men as compared to women. They were all associated with testosterone and the testosterone/estradiol ratio. They remained significantly associated with sex (but not with hormones) after being tested for potential confounders. Conclusions: Sex seems to influence the levels of proatherogenic cytokines. This is consistent not only with sex differences in vulnerability to infections but also with the higher cardiovascular risk exhibited by the male gender as compared to the female gender. Nevertheless, this association is only partly explained by hormone levels. MDPI 2020-05-29 /pmc/articles/PMC7311959/ /pubmed/32485823 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21113861 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Bernardi, Stella
Toffoli, Barbara
Tonon, Federica
Francica, Morena
Campagnolo, Elena
Ferretti, Tommaso
Comar, Sarah
Giudici, Fabiola
Stenner, Elisabetta
Fabris, Bruno
Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title_full Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title_fullStr Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title_full_unstemmed Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title_short Sex Differences in Proatherogenic Cytokine Levels
title_sort sex differences in proatherogenic cytokine levels
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7311959/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32485823
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21113861
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