The major burden of the human immunodeficiency (HIV) type 1 pandemic is nowadays carried by women from sub-Saharan Africa. Differences in the manifestations of HIV-1 infection between women and men have been long reported, and might be due to both socio-economic (gender) and biological (sex) factors. Several studies have shown that women are more susceptible to HIV-1 acquisition than men. Following HIV-1 infection, women have lower viral loads during acute infection and exhibit stronger antiviral responses than men, which may contribute to differences in the size of viral reservoirs. Oestrogen receptor signalling could represent an important mediator of sex differences in HIV-1 reservoir size and may represent a potential therapeutic target. Furthermore, immune activation, a hallmark of HIV-1 infection, is generally higher in women than in men and could be a central mechanism in the sex difference observed in the speed of HIV-1 disease progression. Here, we review the literature regarding sex-based differences in HIV-1 infection and discuss how a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms could improve preventive and therapeutic strategies.
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August 2016
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GABAB receptor-mediated hypertension via hyperpolarization of solitary tract nucleus neurons that receive and integrate baroreceptor afferent inputs. See pp. 1417-1434 for further details. Image kindly provided by Omar Logue
Review Article|
July 07 2016
Sex and gender differences in HIV-1 infection
Morgane Griesbeck;
Morgane Griesbeck
*Center for immunology and infectious diseases (CIMI), Paris 75013, France
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Eileen Scully;
Eileen Scully
†Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge 02139, U.S.A.
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Marcus Altfeld
‡Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Hamburg 20251, Germany
Correspondence: Marcus Altfeld (email marcus.altfeld@hpi.uni-hamburg.de).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 16 2015
Revision Received:
May 02 2016
Accepted:
May 06 2016
Online ISSN: 1470-8736
Print ISSN: 0143-5221
© 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society
2016
Clin Sci (Lond) (2016) 130 (16): 1435–1451.
Article history
Received:
December 16 2015
Revision Received:
May 02 2016
Accepted:
May 06 2016
Citation
Morgane Griesbeck, Eileen Scully, Marcus Altfeld; Sex and gender differences in HIV-1 infection. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 August 2016; 130 (16): 1435–1451. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20160112
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