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Cited by 92Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model OrganismsSex and Gender in HealthcareTelomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence

Sex, gender and immunosenescence: a key to understand the different lifespan between men and women?

Open access
Caruso, Calogero, Accardi, Giulia, Virruso, Claudia, Candore, Giuseppina·2013·Immunity & Ageing
DOI 10.1186/1742-4933-10-20PMC PMC3737094
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Abstract

Gender and sex are known to be associated with longevity. While males are usually stronger, females live longer. In the Western world, the life expectancy of individual born between 2005 and 2010 is 80.4 for women and 73.4 for men [1]. Potential factors have been examined to explain this disagreement. It is possible distinguish advantage in longevity related to biological traits and factors related to socio-cultural characteristics of the population. Males and females have different behavioral tendencies, social responsibilities and expectation. So, differences in mortality between men and women can be not only a matter of sex that refers to biological differences, but also a matter of “socially constructed sex”, i.e. gender [2,3]. One of the main interaction between gender and longevity is linked to the kind of job. Indeed, in the to-day elderly, professional exposure to stressors was stronger in males rather than in females [4]. Since many classic “old” jobs needed specific physical characteristics, females were often housewives, hence they were commonly more protected. Furthermore, alcoholism, smoking and accidents were the main factors contributing to excess male mortality although it is’nt anymore true in the actual generation [2,3]. On the other hand, it is well known that female mithocondria produce less reactive oxygen species than male ones and that estrogens increase high density lipoproteins and decrease low density ones [5,6]. Thus, both gender and sex might be responsible for the differences in lifespan between males and females [2,3]. However, immune-inflammatory responses play a key role in successful ageing [2]. So, immunosenescence, a complex process in which different immunological functions are impaired, others are remodeled, is believed to be a major contributory factor to the increased frequency of morbidity and mortality among elderly [2,7]. On the other hand, it is still controversial whether age-related changes of immune system are different between men and women. To elucidate the relationship between immunological changes and lifespan, peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 356 healthy Japanese ranging in age from 20 to 90 years were analyzed for the number and percentage of various lymphocytes by using three color flow cytometry [8]. The proliferative and cytokine producing ability of T cells in response to anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody stimulation was also assessed. The results show that an age-related decline is observed in the numbers of T cells, in certain subpopulations of T cells (including CD8+ T cells, CD4+CDRA+ T cells, and CD8+CD28+ T cells), and B cells, and in the proliferative ability of T cells. The rate of decline in these immunological parameters, except for the number of CD8+ T cells, is greater in male than in female. An age-related increase is observed in the number of CD4+ T cells, CD4+CDRO+ T cells, and NK (CD56+CD16+) cells and in the CD4+ T cell/CD8+ T cell ratio. The rate of increase of these immunological parameters is greater in female than in male. The T cell proliferation index (TCPI), which was calculated based on T cell proliferative activity and the number of T cells, shows an age-related decline. The rate of decline in the TCPI is again greater in male than in female. T cell immune score, which was calculated by using 5 T cells parameters, also declines with age, and the rate of decline is greater in male than female. In addition, a trend of age-related decrease was observed in the production of some cytokines, when lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody stimulation. In particular, the rate of decline in IL-6 and IL-10 is greater in male than in female [8]. Because IL-10 acts as an immune-inflammatory suppressor [9], this relatively lesser production can be consistent with the fact that the age-related decline of various immunological parameters is less pronounced in female than in male. The authors conclude that the age-related changes of various immunological parameters is different between men and women, likely due to a lower biological age of women. These findings, indicating a slower rate of decline in these immunological parameters in women than in men, are consistent with the fact that women live longer than men, i.e. in Japan 85.5 years in women and 79.0 in men [8]. It is indeed well known that the strength and the kind of immune responses are different between males and females. Hormonal and genetic influences are the main biological differences to consider when the attention is focused on immunology. While from a gender point of view food intake and variety, exposure to non-microbiological antigens and health care access have to be take into account [2,10]. Steroid hormones, linking to specific receptors, modulate in different manner the immunological cells. Estrogen receptors have been detected not only in classical reproductive tissues, but also in immune cell population, including lympho

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Authors
Caruso, C., Accardi, G., Virruso, C., & Candore, G.
Affiliations
University of Palermo (IT)
Corresponding author
Caruso, Calogero
ORCID
Venue
Immunity & Ageing
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2013-05-16
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
20-20
ISSN
1742-4933 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1742-4933-10-20
PMC
PMC3737094
OpenAlex
W2137661922
Cited by
92
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1
FWCI
1.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Immunity & Ageing (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Nova Science Publishers (Nova Science Publishers, Inc.) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
Keywords
immunosenescence, sex differences, gender differences, longevity, lifespan, T cell senescence, CD8+ T cells, T cell proliferation, cytokine production, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, aging immune system, sex hormones, estrogen, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, successful aging, Japanese adults, flow cytometry

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