COVID-19 antibodies may fade faster in men than women
The puzzle of sex differences in immunity
The question of how antibody levels are maintained in the blood has interested immunologists for years. Antibodies are produced by immune cells called plasma cells, which in turn develop from cells known asB lymphocytes. We know that for antibody responses to last, it’s crucial that plasma cells are able to stay alive for a long time too, in a special form known aslong-lived plasma cells, or LLPCs.
We still don’t fully understand the critical factors that affect LLPC longevity. It is likely, though, that the characteristics of the LLPCs themselves, as well as contributing factors from their environment or “niche” within the body, are involved. These factors could well differ between men and women – sex-related differences in immune responses have beenwell describedpreviously.
For example, women have more antibody-producing B lymphocytes and make more antibodies in general. So it may be that women make a more effective “measured” response to SARS-CoV-2 as a result, whereas the male response is more erratic: at first ineffective, then extreme during severe acute infection, but disappearing more rapidly once the infection is cleared.
Antibody-producing LLPCs are also not the only components of the immune response that are important for long-lived protection against viruses. A different type of immune cell – memory T lymphocytes – that persist long after the virus has been cleared and orchestrate a stronger, quicker immune response upon reinfection are also crucial.
Promisingly,data is now appearingto show that these cells, which can kill virus-infected cells as well as help with antibody production, also persist up to six months after initial infection with SARS-CoV-2 in both men and women.
There are high hopes that several effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 will soon be available. Although it’s too early to say whether these will result in long-term protection, it is safe to say that to do so, they will need to effect long-lived antibody responses in both women and men. From what we’re beginning to see, the trajectory of these responses might be different in each sex.
This article bySteven Smith, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences,Brunel University Londonis republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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