Why do men and women often respond differently to the same infections, allergies, or treatments?
A new study suggests the answer may come down to just one gene.
Researchers from the University of York have discovered that a gene called Malat1 plays a critical role in shaping the immune response in females, but not in males.
Their findings, published in The Journal of Immunology, provide new insight into why women are more likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases and severe allergic conditions.
The research team focused on T cells, a key part of the body’s defense system.
In particular, they studied a type called Th2 cells, which protect against parasitic infections such as schistosomiasis but also drive allergic reactions, including severe asthma.
Professor Dimitris Lagos, who led the study, explained that Malat1 is unusual because it makes RNA rather than a protein. While the gene is present in both sexes, it seems to work differently in female immune cells.
To test this, the researchers looked at inflammation in mice. They found that when the Malat1 gene was removed, female mice showed major defects in how their Th2 cells developed.
These immune cells were unable to produce enough of the signaling molecules, known as cytokines, that regulate inflammation. Interestingly, the same problem was not seen in male mice.
This difference is important because many immune-related conditions affect women more severely. Asthma, for example, affects more than 240 million people worldwide, with around one-quarter of patients having severe disease.
Among adults with severe asthma, more than 60% are women. Similarly, schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that affects over 200 million people globally, disproportionately impacts adolescent girls and pregnant women living in endemic areas.
According to Professor Lagos, the study adds to a growing body of evidence showing that immune responses cannot always be treated in a “one-size-fits-all” way. Understanding how female immune cells work at the genetic level could lead to more effective, sex-specific therapies for a wide range of immune system diseases.
The next step for the researchers is to confirm these results in human immune cells and learn more about how Malat1 fine-tunes the immune system. This knowledge could eventually help doctors design better treatments, tailored to men and women, for conditions ranging from parasitic infections to severe asthma.
If you care about health, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K could lower your heart disease risk by a third.
For more health information, please see recent studies about new way to halt excessive inflammation, and results showing foods that could cause inflammation.
