The evolution of sex-specific virulence in infectious diseases.
The evolution of sex-specific virulence in infectious diseases.
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms13849
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发表时间：
2016-12-13
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Jansen VA
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Úbeda F;Jansen VA
男子的传染病死亡率往往高于妇女。虽然这种差异通常归因于女性更强的免疫反应，但我们表明，性别提供的传播途径的差异可能导致有利于具有性别特异性毒力的病原体的进化。由于妇女可以在怀孕、分娩或哺乳期间传播病原体，病原体会适应，从而在妇女中进化出较低的毒力。这可以解决长期存在的关于从人类T细胞嗜酸性病毒1型（HTLV-1）感染进展为致命的成人T细胞白血病（ATL）的难题;日本男性比女性更有可能进展，而加勒比地区的女性和男性同样可能。我们认为，母乳喂养，在日本比在加勒比地区更长的时间，可能已经驱动了两个人口之间的毒力的差异。我们的发现表明了研究男性和女性病原体基因表达谱差异的重要性。许多传染病在男性中比在女性中更有可能发展为严重疾病或死亡，这归因于女性的免疫反应更强。在这里，作者提出，从母亲到孩子的病原体传播有利于女性毒性较低的进化，并认为日本男性中HTLV-1感染进展为白血病的风险较高是由于日本长期母乳喂养。
Fatality rates of infectious diseases are often higher in men than women. Although this difference is often attributed to a stronger immune response in women, we show that differences in the transmission routes that the sexes provide can result in evolution favouring pathogens with sex-specific virulence. Because women can transmit pathogens during pregnancy, birth or breast-feeding, pathogens adapt, evolving lower virulence in women. This can resolve the long-standing puzzle on progression from Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) infection to lethal Adult T-cell Leukaemia (ATL); a progression that is more likely in Japanese men than women, while it is equally likely in Caribbean women and men. We argue that breastfeeding, being more prolonged in Japan than in the Caribbean, may have driven the difference in virulence between the two populations. Our finding signifies the importance of investigating the differences in genetic expression profile of pathogens in males and females. Many infectious diseases are more likely to progress to serious illness or death in men than in women, which has been attributed to a stronger immune response in women. Here, the authors propose that pathogen transmission from mother to child favours the evolution of lower virulence in women, and argue that the higher risk of HTLV-1 infection progressing to leukaemia in Japanese men is due to prolonged breastfeeding in Japan.