New research reveals why autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women
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Researchers have uncovered a major biological clue that may explain why nearly 80% of autoimmune disease patients are women. The study points to differences linked to the X chromosome and immune system regulation, which may cause women’s immune responses to become overactive and mistakenly attack healthy tissues. The findings could help scientists better understand conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, potentially opening the door to more targeted treatments in the future.
Source
Dou, D. R., Zhao, Y., Belk, J. A., Zhao, Y., Casey, K. M., Chen, D. C., Li, R., Yu, B., Srinivasan, S., Abe, B. T., Kraft, K., Hellström, C., Sjöberg, R., Chang, S., Feng, A., Goldman, D. W., Shah, A. A., Petri, M., Chung, L. S., Fiorentino, D. F., … Chang, H. Y. (2024). Xist ribonucleoproteins promote female sex-biased autoimmunity. Cell, 187(3), 733–749.e16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.037
Additional Reading
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/02/01/why-women-have-more-autoimmune-diseases/
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/02/women-autoimmune.html