Effects of sex and aging on the immune cell landscape as assessed by single-cell transcriptomic analysis.

ABSTRACT: Sex and aging influence the human immune system, resulting in disparate responses to infection, autoimmunity, and cancer. However, the impact of sex and aging on the immune system is not yet fully elucidated. Using small conditional RNA sequencing, we found that females had a lower percentage of natural killer (NK) cells and a higher percentage of plasma cells in peripheral blood compared with males. Bioinformatics revealed that young females exhibited an overrepresentation of pathways that relate to T and B cell activation. Moreover, cell-cell communication analysis revealed evidence of increased activity of the BAFF/APRIL systems in females. Notably, aging increased the percentage of monocytes and reduced the percentage of naïve T cells in the blood and the number of differentially expre

SUBMITTER: Huang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8379935 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature