Testosterone could explain why asthma is more common in women than men

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Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls, but the situation reverses with adolescence, prompting researchers to examine role sex hormones might play

(Nicola Davis/ The Guardian) — The puzzle of why asthma is about twice as common in women as men may have been solved, according to researchers who say it might partly be down to testosterone.

While boys are about 1.5 times as likely to have asthma as girls, the situation changes with adolescence – a factor that has led scientists to probe whether sex hormones could be behind the trends.

To unpick possible mechanisms behind the gender differences, a team of researchers from the US focused on a type of white blood cells, known as ILC2 cells, that originate in the bone marrow and become “seeded” in particular tissues of the body, including the lungs, early in life.

When an allergen enters the lungs, the cells lining the airways secrete proteins which in turn trigger ILC2 to expand and produce yet more proteins, which kick off a cascade of inflammatory response. (…)

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