The impacts of gender differences on systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a common autoimmune disease,and lupus nephritis is one of its common complications. Their clinical manifestations have differences. The incidence ratio of male to female varies by age group. Moreover,there are gender differences in the clinical manifestations of SLE in men and women. Understanding the effects of gender differences on systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis may be related to the treatment and long-term prognosis of patients. Studies have shown that many factors are involved, but the exact mechanism is still unclear. Sex hormones play a very important role. These hormones include estrogen,androgen and progesterone. By binding to estrogen receptors,estrogen regulates T lymphocytes,B lymphocytes and cytokines to affect the pathogenesis of SLE. Androgen also plays its physiological role through androgen receptors. Androgen receptors are expressed in thymus and bone marrow cells but not in peripheral blood lymphocytes. This suggests that androgens may not have a direct effect on lymphocyte function, but they do play an important role in the development of T and B lymphocytes. Progesterone acts as an immunoregulation molecule by binding to progesterone receptors. In addition,both sex chromosomes and autosomes play important roles in the pathogenesis of SLE, affecting gene expression. Environmental factors may lead to different diseases in identical twins by influencing epigenetic patterns. Gender differences in intestinal flora also have a certain impact on the incidence of SLE. Gender differences may affect the differences in individualized treatment regimens,and further research is needed.