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Sex Hormones and the Immune System: Implications for Menopause and Autoimmunity

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Women’s Health and Menopause

Part of the book series: Medical Science Symposia Series ((MSSS,volume 17))

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Abstract

It has long been suspected that there is a strong interaction between sex hormones and the immune system. Several observations support this concept such as the dimorphic nature of the two genders, alterations in the immune response after gonadectomy or sex steroid hormone treatment, modification of the immune response during pregnancy, and the identification of steroid hormone receptors in cells of the immune system support this concept. Numerous in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that sex hormones affect and modify the actions of cells of the immune system. In addition, considerable evidence has accumulated suggesting that the interaction between estrogen and cells of the immune system can have non-immune regulatory effects. Thus, the role of estrogen in prevention of bone loss is mediated by mechanisms involving the inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines by bone marrow cells [1 – 3].Moreover, disorders frequently affecting women after menopause, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, or neurodegenerative disorders, can be ascribed to the loss of sex hormone-dependent regulation of physiological functions, as well as to a modification of the non-immune functions of resident immune cells [4].

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Authors
  1. Gil Mor
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

    R. A. Lobo

  2. First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    P. G. Crosignani  & F. Bruschi  & 

  3. Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    R. Paoletti

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Mor, G. (2002). Sex Hormones and the Immune System: Implications for Menopause and Autoimmunity. In: Lobo, R.A., Crosignani, P.G., Paoletti, R., Bruschi, F. (eds) Women’s Health and Menopause. Medical Science Symposia Series, vol 17. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1061-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1061-1_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5375-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1061-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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