Kynurenic acid may underlie sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19
Cai Y, Kim DJ, Takahashi T, Broadhurst DI, Yan H, Ma S, Rattray NJW, Casanovas-Massana A, Israelow B, Klein J, Lucas C, Mao T, Moore AJ, Muenker MC, Oh JE, Silva J, Wong P, team Y, Ko AI, Khan SA, Iwasaki A, Johnson CH. Kynurenic acid may underlie sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19. Science Signaling 2021, 14: eabf8483. PMID: 34230210, PMCID: PMC8432948, DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abf8483.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsKynurenic acidImmune responseClinical outcomesSex-specific immune responsesT cell responsesPoor clinical outcomeCOVID-19 patientsCoronavirus disease 2019COVID-19Sex-related differencesMale patientsCytokine abundanceInflammatory cytokinesKynurenine ratioSerum metabolomeDisease 2019Sex-specific linkKynurenine aminotransferaseCell responsesOld malePatientsMalesOutcomesResponseMetabolitesSex differences in immune responses
Takahashi T, Iwasaki A. Sex differences in immune responses. Science 2021, 371: 347-348. PMID: 33479140, DOI: 10.1126/science.abe7199.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsImmune responseCOVID-19Sex differencesSevere COVID-19Risk of deathHigher mortality riskCOVID-19 mortalityPossible biological mechanismsCOVID-19 incidenceMale sexRisk factorsSevere diseaseHigh riskMortality riskMale sex biasOld maleSex-disaggregated dataBehavioral factorsBiological sex differencesDeathVulnerable groupsRiskBiological mechanismsMalesSex