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High levels of serum testosterone weakened response to flu vaccine
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Higher levels of serum testosterone can weaken the immune response to some types of the influenza vaccine, according to data published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“This is the first study to show an explicit correlation between testosterone levels, gene expression and immune responsiveness in humans,” Mark M. Davis, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology; director of Stanford University School of Medicine’s Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, said in a press release. “It could be food for thought to all the testosterone-supplement takers out there.”
The researchers analyzed samples from 53 women and 34 men, and found that women displayed significantly stronger antibody responses to the trivalent inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine (TIV), according to data.
“This was not surprising,” David Furman, PhD, a research associate in Davis’ group, said in a press release, as it was consistent with data in similar studies.
Furman and colleagues reported that women also demonstrated higher average pre-vaccination blood levels of pro-inflammatory immune-signaling proteins. However, pre-vaccination levels of these proteins in the blood of female subjects did not significantly correlate with the level of post-vaccination antibody responses.
In addition, the researchers found that elevated antibody responses to TIV and expression of inflammatory cytokines in the serum of women was comparable with men’s responses regardless of age.
The inflammatory profile correlated with the levels of phosphorylated STAT3 proteins in monocytes, but not with the serological response to the vaccine, researchers wrote.
However, they also identified a cluster of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis previously shown to be up-regulated by testosterone that correlated with poor virus-neutralizing activity in men.
“Most studies don’t report on sex differences, a major determinant of variation in immune response,” Furman said in the press release.
Furthermore, men with elevated serum testosterone levels and associated gene signatures exhibited the lowest antibody responses to TIV.
These data also suggested a significant association between androgens and the genes involved in lipid metabolism, which could have additional implications for the differences in immune responses between men and women.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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