• Jeffrey A Yung, Hubaida Fuseini, and Dawn C Newcomb.
• Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
• Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2018 May 1; 120 (5): 488-494.

ObjectiveTo summarize the current literature on the sex disparity in asthma and the role of sex hormone signaling in allergic and neutrophilic airway inflammation.Data SourcesPubMed and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health surveys were searched.Study SelectionsClinical and epidemiologic studies in children and adults as well as animal models of asthma were included in this review.ResultsCompared with males, females have an increase in asthma prevalence starting around puberty, and fluctuations in hormones during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are associated with changes in asthma symptoms. Animal studies using genetic deletions of estrogen receptors or androgen receptors have shown that estrogen signaling promotes and androgen signaling attenuates allergen-mediated type 2 airway inflammation. Furthermore, animal studies have found that ovarian hormones are important for interleukin 17A-mediated airway inflammation.ConclusionSex hormones are important in regulating asthma pathogenesis. However, additional studies need to be conducted to further elucidate how sex hormones are initiating and driving the inflammatory response(s) in asthma. Determining these pathways will provide the foundation necessary for the development of treatment strategies and potentially new therapeutics for patients, in particular females, with asthma.Copyright © 2018 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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