Description:

Title: Sex is a Biological Variable that Impacts Influenza Vaccine Efficacy

Speaker: Sabra Klein, PhD / Johns Hopkins

Host: Virology Graduate Students and Postdocs, Coordinator, Dean Procter, PhD

Topic:

Influenza is an ongoing threat to human health, despite the recommended annual vaccination. Among adults, females typically develop greater vaccine-induced immunity and protection than males, which is caused by sex differential epigenetic modifications in X-linked genes in B cells as well as sex steroid signaling. Furthermore, inactivated as well as universal influenza vaccine-induced immunity declines with age, but to a greater degree in females than males, which is associated with hormonal changes occurring during reproductive senescence. Taken together, both sex steroids and X-linked genes affect antibody production and results in sex-specific differences in the efficacy of vaccination against influenza.

This work was supported by the NIH/NIAID Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance contract HHS N272201400007C and the NIH/ORWH/NIA Specialized Center of Research Excellence in Sex Differences U54AG062333.