scholarly journals Masculinity and immune system efficacy in men

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243777
Author(s):  
Judyta Nowak-Kornicka ◽  
Barbara Borkowska ◽  
Bogusław Pawłowski
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
General Health ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Prenatal Development ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Innate And Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Healthy Men ◽  
Adaptive Parameters ◽  
Hand Grip ◽  
Pubertal Stages

Masculinity-related morphological traits are supposed to be honest indicators of a man's biological quality. While some studies showed that sexually dimorphic traits are related to various aspects of biological condition such as general health, immunity or fertility, still little is known about the relationship between masculine traits and the effectiveness of innate and adaptive immunity in humans. The aim of this study was to see if masculine traits, which are dependent on androgen levels in foetal and pubertal stages of development, are related to the immune quality in healthy men. The immune quality was evaluated for 91 healthy men aged 19–36 years. Immunity measurements included innate and adaptive parameters. General health status, age, testosterone level, BMI, physical activity, and smoking were controlled. The shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR), 2D:4D digit ratio and hand-grip strength (HGS) were used as markers of masculinization. The regressions showed that when controlling for confounds, masculinity-related traits were in general not related to innate and adaptive immunity. Only a weak association was observed for right 2D:4D ratio and T-lymphocyte counts (but it becomes non-significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons). Our results do not support the premise that masculinity is a cue for immunological quality in men. However, the positive association between right 2D:4D and T lymphocytes might suggest that further studies are needed to verify if androgen stimulation in prenatal development might be related to immunity in adulthood.

scholarly journals Lingonberries—General and Oral Effects on the Microbiome and Inflammation

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 3738
Author(s):  
Pirjo Pärnänen ◽  
Hanna Lähteenmäki ◽  
Taina Tervahartiala ◽  
Ismo T. Räisänen ◽  
Timo Sorsa
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Microbiome ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Innate And Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Oral Environment

Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis ideae L.) is a low-bush wild plant found in the northern hemisphere. The berries are used in traditional medicine in Finland to treat oral yeast infections. General and oral effects of lingonberries on the microbiome and inflammation are reviewed. A brief introduction to oral microbiome symbiosis and dysbiosis, innate and adaptive immunity and inflammation are included, and special features in microbe/host interactions in the oral environment are considered. In vitro anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and in vivo mouse and human studies are included, focusing on the symbiotic effect of lingonberries on oral and general health.

scholarly journals Associations of cells from both innate and adaptive immunity with lower nerve conduction velocity: the Maastricht Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e001698
Author(s):  
Haifa Maalmi ◽  
Kristiaan Wouters ◽  
Hans H C M Savelberg ◽  
Jeroen H P M van der Velde ◽  
Jos P H Reulen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Conduction Velocity ◽  
Nerve Conduction ◽  
Nerve Conduction Velocity ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Sensory Nerve ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Innate And Adaptive Immunity

IntroductionDistal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) is common in people with diabetes but is also found in pre-diabetes. Peripheral nerve myelin damage, which can be assessed by reduced nerve conduction velocity (NCV), is an essential feature of DSPN. Emerging evidence indicates that the development of DSPN may involve the activation of the immune system. However, available studies have mainly investigated circulating immune mediators, whereas the role of immune cells remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to test whether leukocyte subsets are associated with NCV.Research design and methodsThis cross-sectional study analyzed data from 850 individuals (of whom 252 and 118 had type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes, respectively) of the Maastricht Study. NCV was measured in the peroneal and tibial motor nerves and the sural sensory nerve and summed to calculate a standardized NCV sum score. Associations between percentages of leukocyte subsets and NCV sum scores were estimated using linear regression models adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, metabolic and clinical covariates.ResultsAfter adjustment for covariates, higher percentages of basophils and CD4+ T cells were associated with lower NCV (p=0.014 and p=0.005, respectively). The percentage of CD8+ T cells was positively associated with NCV (p=0.022). These associations were not modified by glucose metabolism status (all pinteraction >0.05). No associations were found for monocytes, eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, total T cells, Treg cells and B cells.ConclusionsThe associations of basophils, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells with NCV suggest that cell types from both innate and adaptive immunity may be implicated in the development of DSPN.

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