(ORDO NEWS) — Molecular biologists from the United States have found that women tolerate many infections easier than men due to increased activity of the KDM6A gene, copies of which are located inside the “female” X chromosomes.
Professor Su and her colleagues found that sex differences in the level of activity of the KDM6A gene, which is responsible for the production of the UTX protein, may be the reason.
This peptide affects the structure of the protein shell of DNA, due to which it controls the activity of a large number of genes, presumably associated with the metabolism of human cells.
“Men have significantly more infection-fighting NK cells, which, however, does not make them more immune to disease than women.
We found that this is due to the fact that the KDM6A gene is significantly more active in female NK -cells, which allows them to more effectively resist pathogens,” said UCLA professor Maureen Su, quoted by the press service of the university.
Differences in the work of immunity
American molecular biologists have found that the UTX protein is also important for the functioning of NK cells, a type of lymphocyte that is responsible for suppressing viral infections.
The researchers found that the level of activity of this peptide differs in female and male lymphocytes.
In female NK cells, UTX is more active, which improves the ability to fight viruses, but at the same time accelerates the natural death of these cells.
Differences in the activity of the peptide in the lymphocytes of women and men were associated with the fact that the KDM6A gene is located on the female X chromosome.
As a rule, “extra” copies of genes located on the second X chromosome in women’s DNA are usually in a disabled state, but this was not typical for KDM6A, both copies of which were turned on in NK cells.
Experiments on mice showed that artificially reducing the activity of the KDM6A gene led to the fact that females became just as vulnerable to infections as males.
In addition to this, the scientists found that the concentration of female or male sex hormones did not affect the level of UTX activity in the animals’ lymphocytes.
This indicates the genetic nature of differences in the level of NK cell activity in the body of men and women.
According to the researchers, the work will help develop new, more effective methods of fighting infections, taking into account the peculiarities of the work of lymphocytes in men and women.
In addition, further study of the work of the UTX protein will help scientists create approaches that will help the immune system of men to fight infection more actively.
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