August 26, 2020

Sex Differences in Immune Responses That Underlie COVID-19 Disease Outcomes

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics, risk factors

• Takahashi et al. found immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection differ by sex, suggesting potential factors that contribute to observed sex-based disparities in COVID-19. Among patients with moderate disease who had not received immunomodulatory medications (n=98), male patients had higher plasma levels of innate immune cytokines (e.g., IL-8 and IL-18), along with more robust induction of non-classical monocytes, whereas female patients mounted significantly more robust T cell activation than male patients during SARS-CoV-2 infection, which was sustained in old age. A poor T cell response was negatively correlated with patients’ age and was associated with worse disease outcome in male patients, but not in female patients. Conversely, higher levels of innate immune cytokines were associated with worse disease progression among female patients, but not among males.

Takahashi et al. (Aug 26, 2020). Sex Differences in Immune Responses That Underlie COVID-19 Disease Outcomes. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2700-3