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The Unsilencing

2021/8/26
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Lulu Miller
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Molly Webster
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Molly Webster: 本节目探讨了女性自身免疫性疾病发病率远高于男性的原因，这是一个医学谜团。类风湿性关节炎和多发性硬化症等疾病在女性中的发病率显著高于男性。自身免疫性疾病的症状范围很广，从皮疹到神经退行性疾病都有，且发病率似乎正在上升。 Montserrat Anguera 关注X染色体与自身免疫性疾病的关系。X染色体拥有大量与免疫相关的基因，而女性通常拥有两条X染色体。传统的观点认为，女性额外的X染色体会被沉默，但Anguera的研究发现，在患有狼疮的女性的免疫细胞中，额外的X染色体没有被沉默，这可能导致额外的免疫基因被激活，从而导致自身免疫性疾病。即使在健康女性中，X染色体也可能偶尔不被沉默，这可能解释了为什么健康女性的免疫系统通常比男性强。 Melissa Wilson 的研究追溯到一亿年前胎盘的进化，探讨其与免疫系统的关系。胎盘对母体来说是异物，母体免疫系统会试图将其排斥。为了与胎盘共存，女性进化出了更强的免疫系统。Wilson 假设，女性更强的免疫系统是为了应对怀孕期间胎盘对免疫系统的抑制，以避免免疫系统被完全抑制而导致死亡。一些女性在怀孕期间，自身免疫性疾病症状会减轻或消失，这支持了Wilson的假设。Wilson 认为，现代社会避孕措施的普及导致女性怀孕次数减少，这可能是自身免疫性疾病发病率上升的原因之一。 Rhonda Voskuhl 研究胎盘产生的雌三醇（estriol）及其对自身免疫性疾病的影响。Voskuhl 的临床试验表明，雌三醇可以减轻多发性硬化症患者的症状，并具有神经保护作用。雌三醇在怀孕期间大量产生，并在分娩后迅速下降。Voskuhl 的研究表明，雌三醇可能作为一种治疗自身免疫性疾病的药物。 Lulu Miller: 自身免疫性疾病在女性中发病率远高于男性，例如类风湿性关节炎和多发性硬化症。

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The episode explores the prevalence of autoimmune disorders in women and the sex differences in disease incidence, focusing on the role of the immune system and genetic factors.

Shownotes Transcript

Multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, even psoriasis — these are diseases in which the body begins to attack itself, and they all have one thing in common: they affect women more than men. Most autoimmune disorders do. And not just by a little bit, often by a lot; in some cases, as much as sixteen times more. But why? On today’s episode, we talk to scientists trying to answer that question. We go back 100 million years, to when our placenta first evolved and consider how it might have shaped our immune system. We dive deep into the genome, to stare at one of the most famous chromosomes: the X. And we also try to unravel a mystery — why is it that for some females, autoimmune disorders seemingly disappear during pregnancy?

This episode was reported by Molly Webster, and produced by Sindhu Gnanasambandan and Molly Webster. *The Gonads theme song was written, performed, and produced by Majel Connery and Alex Overington. *

Looking for something else to listen to? We suggest pairing “The Unsilencing” with “Everybody’s Got One),” an episode about an unknown super-organ that nobody on the planet would be here without: the placenta.

Want to learn more? You can …...check out a )Montserrat Anguera XX study,...read Melissa Wilson’s placental, pregnancy hypothesis,))…and get a primer on Rhonda Voskuhl’s estriol & Multiple Sclerosis work.)

 

*Support Radiolab by becoming a member of *The Lab) today.