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Review
. 2018 May;120(5):488-494.
doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2018.01.016. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Hormones, sex, and asthma

Jeffrey A Yung  1 , Hubaida Fuseini  1 , Dawn C Newcomb  2
Affiliations
Review

Hormones, sex, and asthma

Jeffrey A Yung et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2018 May.

Abstract

Objective: To summarize the current literature on the sex disparity in asthma and the role of sex hormone signaling in allergic and neutrophilic airway inflammation.

Data sources: PubMed and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health surveys were searched.

Study selections: Clinical and epidemiologic studies in children and adults as well as animal models of asthma were included in this review.

Results: Compared with males, females have an increase in asthma prevalence starting around puberty, and fluctuations in hormones during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are associated with changes in asthma symptoms. Animal studies using genetic deletions of estrogen receptors or androgen receptors have shown that estrogen signaling promotes and androgen signaling attenuates allergen-mediated type 2 airway inflammation. Furthermore, animal studies have found that ovarian hormones are important for interleukin 17A-mediated airway inflammation.

Conclusion: Sex hormones are important in regulating asthma pathogenesis. However, additional studies need to be conducted to further elucidate how sex hormones are initiating and driving the inflammatory response(s) in asthma. Determining these pathways will provide the foundation necessary for the development of treatment strategies and potentially new therapeutics for patients, in particular females, with asthma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. How sex hormones regulate different airway inflammatory pathways in asthma
Schematic of type 2, IL-17A-mediated, and IFN-y-mediated pathways associated with different phenotypes of asthma. Summary of gender differences and the role of sex hormone signaling in type 2 and IL-17A-mediated airway inflammation are shown in boxes below pathways.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Fuseini H, Newcomb DC. Mechanisms Driving Gender Differences in Asthma. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports. 2017;17(3):19. - PMC - PubMed

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