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Review
. 2022 Sep 28;10(37):7089-7098.
doi: 10.1039/d2tb00871h.

Chemical and molecular tools to probe biological sex differences at multiple length scales

Nicole E Félix Vélez  1   2 , Rayyan M Gorashi  1   2 , Brian A Aguado  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Chemical and molecular tools to probe biological sex differences at multiple length scales

Nicole E Félix Vélez et al. J Mater Chem B. .

Abstract

Biological sex differences are observed at multiple different length scales and across organ systems. Gaps in knowledge remain regarding our understanding of how molecular, cellular, and environmental factors contribute to physiological sex differences. Here, we provide our perspective on how chemical and molecular tools can be leveraged to explore sex differences in biology at the molecular, intracellular, extracellular, tissue, and organ length scales. We provide examples where chemical and molecular tools were used to explore sex differences in the cardiovascular, nervous, immune, and reproductive systems. We also provide a future outlook where chemical and molecular tools can be applied to continue investigating sex differences in biology, with the ultimate goal of addressing inequities in biomedical research and approaches to clinical treatments.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Examples of sex differences observed throughout the body. Created with biorender.com
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Chemical and molecular tools used (or may be used) to study sex differences in the brain, heart, inflammation response, and female reproductive health at different length scales. Created with biorender.com
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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