Rate of replenishment and microenvironment contribute to the sexually dimorphic phenotype and function of peritoneal macrophages
Calum C. Bain, Douglas A Gibson, Nicholas J. Steers, Katerina Boufea, Pieter A. Louwe, C. Doherty, Víctor González‐Huici, Rebecca Gentek, Marlène Magalhaes Pinto, Tovah N. Shaw, Marc Bajénoff, C Bénézech, Sarah R. Walmsley, David H. Dockrell, Philippa T. K. Saunders, Nizar N. Batada, Stephen J. Jenkins
Abstract
mice, we demonstrate that key sex-dependent features of peritoneal macrophages are a function of the differential rate of replenishment from the bone marrow, whereas others are reliant on local microenvironment signals. We demonstrate that the dimorphic turnover of peritoneal macrophages contributes to differences in the ability to protect against pneumococcal peritonitis between the sexes. These data highlight the importance of considering both sex and age in susceptibility to inflammatory and infectious diseases.