ArticlePloS one2012
Sex differences in the response to viral infections: TLR8 and TLR9 ligand stimulation induce higher IL10 production in males.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Profile of Circulatory Cytokines and Chemokines in Human Coronaviruses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in immunologyPooled it
- Association of serum cytokines with oral HPV clearance.Cytokine · 2016Trial
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- The X Factor in Immunity: Sex Differences Shaped by the X Chromosome.Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- Sex Differences in Long COVID Prevalence Over One year After the Acute Phase, and Related Risk Factors. The GINA-COVID Cohort Study.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Can Sex-based Variations in the Immune Responses to AAV Gene Therapy Affect Safety and Efficacy? A Review of Current Understanding.The AAPS journal · 2025Review
- A Comparative Study of Merkel Cell Carcinoma and Melanoma Incidence and Survival in the United States, 2000-2021.The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2025Article
- Sex bias determines MERS-CoV infection outcomes in a mouse model of differential pathogenicity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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- Sexual dimorphism in immunity and longevity among the oldest old.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Sex-specific cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor signatures in T1D patients and progressors.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2024Article
- Impact of Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Viral Shedding on COVID-19 Disease Outcome and Viral Dynamics.Indian journal of microbiology · 2024Review
- Multivariate analyses and machine learning link sex and age with antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and vaccination.iScience · 2024Article
- Inflammatory Response Genes' Polymorphism Associated with Risk of Rheumatic Heart Disease.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Article
- Recent Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms of the Toll-like Receptor Response to Influenza Virus Infection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
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- Review
- HERC6 regulates STING activity in a sex-biased manner through modulation of LATS2/VGLL3 Hippo signaling.iScience · 2024Article
- Sex-related immunity: could Toll-like receptors be the answer in acute inflammatory response?Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSusceptibility to viral infections as well as their severity are higher in men than in women. Heightened antiviral responses typical of women are effective for rapid virus clearance, but if excessively high or prolonged, can result in chronic/inflammatory pathologies. We investigated whether this variability could be in part attributable to differences in the response to the Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) more involved in the virus recognition.
methodsCytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from male and female healthy donors after stimulation with Toll-like receptors (TLR) 3, 7, 8, 9 ligands or with viruses (influenza and Herpes-simplex-1) was evaluated.
resultsCompared to females, PBMCs from males produced not only lower amounts of IFN-α in response to TLR7 ligands but also higher amounts of the immunosuppressive cytokine IL10 after stimulation with TLR8 and TLR9 ligands or viruses. IL10 production after TLR9 ligands or HSV-1 stimulation was significantly related with plasma levels of sex hormones in both groups, whereas no correlation was found in cytokines produced following TLR7 and TLR8 stimulation.
conclusionsGiven the role of an early production of IL10 by cells of innate immunity in modulating innate and adaptive immune response to viruses, we suggest that sex-related difference in its production following viral nucleic acid stimulation of TLRs may be involved in the sex-related variability in response to viral infections.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.