ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2021
Effects of sex and aging on the immune cell landscape as assessed by single-cell transcriptomic analysis.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 153 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
153 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A meta-analysis of immune-cell fractions at high resolution reveals novel associations with common phenotypes and health outcomes.Genome medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Immunotherapy and senolytics in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: phase 2 trial results.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Naoxueshu Oral Liquid Accelerates Post-Craniotomy Hematoma Absorption in Patients: An Open-Label, Multicenter, and Randomized Controlled Trial.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Trial
- Single-cell multi-omics dissects transcript isoform and immune repertoire dynamics in human immunosenescence.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Article
- Osteosarcoma Across the Age Spectrum: Why Outcomes Diverge and Trials Must Adapt.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Donor-specific, but not sex-specific, signatures dominate cell-type classification in lung scRNA-seq data.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Sex-specific aging clocks from a large-scale human phenome reveal distinct aging transitions and circulating signatures.Nature aging · 2026Article
- The long-lived immune system of centenarians.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- How age and sex interaction is associated with immune aging with implications for vaccines and age-related autoimmunity.npj aging · 2026Review
- CD31Physiological reports · 2026Article
- A Primate-Specific lncRNA LINC01021 Contributes to Cellular and Organismal Aging via DAZAP1-Dependent Destabilization of RBMX.Aging cell · 2026Article
- Circulating cell type senescence signatures track distinct dimensions of health status and trajectories in human longitudinal cohorts.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Mapping the TCR landscape: computational tools empowering translational immunology and therapy design.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Review
- Extracellular Vesicles as Dynamic Sensors of Redox-Inflammatory Balance: Potential Implications for Aging in Healthy Subjects.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Article
- The impact of sex on the immune system explored at the single-cell level.American journal of human genetics · 2026Article
- Sensing of DNA double-strand breaks by the NHEJ system stabilizes RORγt transcriptional activity and shapes Th17 pathogenicity in autoimmunity.Cell research · 2026Article
- CD8Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- Early peripheral immune signaling precedes tau elevation and blood-brain barrier disruption in Alzheimer's disease.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Biological sex shapes divergent trajectories of immune aging.Nature aging · 2026Article
93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
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 expressed genes between the sexes. Aged males expressed higher levels of inflammatory genes. Collectively, the results suggest that females have more plasma cells in the circulation and a stronger BAFF/APRIL system, which is consistent with a stronger adaptive immune response. In contrast, males have a higher percentage of NK cells in blood and a higher expression of certain proinflammatory genes. Overall, this work expands our knowledge of sex differences in the immune system in humans.
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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.