When the balance is broken: X-linked gene dosage from two X chromosomes and female-biased autoimmunity
Abstract
Women and men exhibit differences in innate and adaptive immunity, and women are more susceptible to numerous autoimmune disorders. Two or more X chromosomes increases the risk for some autoimmune diseases, and increased expression of some X-linked immune genes is frequently observed in female lymphocytes from autoimmune patients. Evidence from mouse models of autoimmunity also supports the idea that increased expression of X-linked genes is a feature of female-biased autoimmunity. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the correlation between abnormal X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), an essential mechanism female somatic cells use to equalize X-linked gene dosage between the sexes, and autoimmunity in lymphocytes. In this review, we highlight research describing overexpression of X-linked immunity-related genes and female-biased autoimmunity in both humans and mouse models, and make connections with our recent work elucidating lymphocyte-specific mechanisms of XCI maintenance that become altered in lupus patients.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 24, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1002/jlb.6ri0319-094r
Entities
People
- Camille M. Syrett
- Montserrat C Anguera
Organizations
- National Science Foundation
- United States Department of Defense
- University of Pennsylvania