Michigan State University researchers are the first to uncover reasons why a specific type of immune cell acts very differently in females compared to males while under stress, resulting in women being more susceptible to certain diseases.
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[T]he federally funded study found that females were more vulnerable to certain stress-related and allergic diseases than males because of distinct differences found in mast cells, a type of white blood cell that’s part of the immune system.…
Mast cells are an important immune cell because they play a key role in stress-related health issues that are typically more common in women such as allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.
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“This could explain why women, or men, are more or less vulnerable to certain types of diseases,” [said Adam Moeser, study leader and an endowed chair and associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine.]
With this new understanding of how different genes act,…scientists could eventually start developing new sex-specific treatments that target these immune cells and stop the onset of disease.
[The study can be found here.]The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Why male immune cells are from Mars and female cells are from Venus
