Our immune system is extremely complex and incredibly interesting. Our body produces about 100 billion immune cells - every day. In the lymph nodes, in the blood, in the spleen, in the liver and in the intestines. They protect us from bacteria, viruses, fungi, environmental toxins and other pathogens, writes ARD. But how does the complex interplay of our defense mechanisms work? And why do women have a genetic advantage in immune protection?
The combination of chromosomes
Men actually have a relatively less developed immune system than women. This is mainly due to the genes, or more precisely the combination of chromosomes, explains the German public legal media. This is because many of the genes that influence the immune system are located exclusively on the X chromosome.
Therefore, people with two X chromosomes usually have a stronger immune system than people with a combination of X and Y chromosomes. “Because of this, women are more resistant to infections," says Bodo Grimbacher from the Center for Chronic Immune Deficiencies at the University of Freiburg Medical Center.
The stronger immune system, however, also has disadvantages - so women are more prone to autoimmune diseases, explains Grimbacher. These diseases are caused by a malfunctioning of the immune system, in which it attacks its own organism and destroys cells, nerves and even organs. “Lupus disease (autoimmune rheumatological disease), for example, is nine times more common in women than in men,” says the immunologist.
Sex hormones also affect the immune system
However, not only genes determine how our body's defenses work - sex hormones also have an impact on our immune system, explains ARD. For example, the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone can stimulate the formation of specific antibodies of the acquired immune system. The male hormone testosterone, on the other hand, tends to suppress the immune system and may even partially suppress immune responses.
Another factor that has not yet been thoroughly investigated is the hormonal change during the menstrual cycle and its effect on the immune response during this phase. However, it seems clear that after menopause, hormonal changes generally lead to a decline in immune system function in women, although the effectiveness of immune defenses declines in all people with age. But what significance do these gender differences have for the treatment of diseases or the dosage of vaccines?
The individual characteristics of each person, as well as the combination of chromosomes, determine their susceptibility to infections, recalls the German public-law media. However, the different ways in which the immune system reacts in men and women have so far hardly been taken into account in clinical practice - at least according to Markus Kornberg, director of the Center for Individualized Infectious Medicine in Hannover. Men are generally more susceptible to a number of chronic infections such as hepatitis B, while women are more likely to experience side effects from infections or vaccines.
Different treatment for different sexes?
Women also suffered more side effects from the Covid-19 vaccination during the pandemic than men. At the same time, the follow-up of antibody titers showed that women had better protection after vaccination, ARD said. "As a scientist, I wonder if women could be given lower doses of the vaccine so that they have fewer side effects. Or, conversely, could men not be given higher doses of the vaccine to increase their resistance, Kornberg says. For drugs to treat infections, the dose often depends on age, but almost never on sex, although there are obvious differences in the degree of effect.
The research here is about biological sex, which refers to the distribution of chromosomes, sex hormones, and primary and secondary sex characteristics. Social gender, which includes non-binary individuals, differs from biological sex. In this article, the terms "male" and "woman" mean the biological sex, explains the team of the German public legal media.