New findings link estrogen and T cell immune response to autoimmune inflammation

[ChrisD]

I thought this would be interesting to share considering the recent talk of T cell research by Prof. Mark Davis

''Women are more prone to the development of autoimmune diseases. The female hormone estrogen is likely to affect the immune system. A team of scientists from Turku Center for Biotechnology and University of Georgia reported new findings related to the involvement of estrogen hormone receptor in autoimmune diseases.

The incidence of autoimmune diseases such as MS, RA, and SLE is higher in women than in men. The estrogen hormone secreted in women may contribute to the pathogenesis of these diseases.''

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/uot-nfl053118.php

 

[WoolPippi]

Their hypothesis is that T-cells have an estrogen receptor and estrogen jiggles it too much, causing the T-cell to malfunction.

"Estrogen hormone shows its action on cells mostly through estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). "

"We discovered that ERα regulates multiple aspects of T cell function, including T cell activation, proliferation and survival."

"Regulatory T cells are group of T cells that help in preventing autoimmune diseases."

title of the research: Estrogen receptor α contributes to T cell-mediated autoimmune inflammation by promoting T cell activation and proliferation.