Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Nov;16(5):340-3.
doi: 10.1097/00024382-200116050-00003.

Gender differences in cytokine secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: role of estrogen in modulating LPS-induced cytokine secretion in an ex vivo septic model

K Asai  1 , N Hiki, Y Mimura, T Ogawa, K Unou, M Kaminishi
Affiliations

Gender differences in cytokine secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: role of estrogen in modulating LPS-induced cytokine secretion in an ex vivo septic model

K Asai et al. Shock. 2001 Nov.

Abstract

Clinical studies demonstrate a better outcome of sepsis in females. Elevated estrogen levels and plasma cytokine imbalance occur in septic patients. We propose that gender-different cytokine secretion by the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in sepsis determines the clinical outcome. A 2 x 10(6) PBMC sample from healthy volunteers (10 males and 10 females) was incubated with 1 ng/mL of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), estradiol (E2; 0, 0.03, 0.3, 3.0, 30 ng/mL), or 1 ng/mL of LPS + E2 (0, 0.03, 0.3, 3.0, 30 ng/ml), and supernatant cytokine levels were measured. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin (IL)-6 production by PBMCs from both sexes was time-dependently stimulated by LPS. At 6 h after LPS challenge, the TNF alpha level of male PBMCs was significantly higher but IL-6 secretion by female PBMCs was higher (two-way ANOVA: P < 0.05). E2 alone stimulated cytokine secretion by male PBMCs. Addition of the same E2 concentration as in sepsis patients' plasma modulated LPS-induced cytokine production. No significant sex differences in LPS-stimulated TNF alpha or IL-6 secretion by PBMCs were found, but IL-10 secretion by male PBMCs was significantly suppressed. This study demonstrated a gender difference in PBMCs responsiveness to LPS and E2 stimulation and E2-modulated cytokine secretion. In this PBMCs model of sepsis, only the supernatant IL-10 level was significantly lower in males. These ex vivo findings may partially explain the mechanism underlying the poorer outcome of male sepsis patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources