X chromosome enhances NK cell responses

Oscar A Aguilar

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2023.05.003

X chromosome enhances NK cell responses

Trends Genet. 2023 Aug;39(8):596-597. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 Jun 8.

Author

Oscar A Aguilar¹

Affiliation

¹ Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: oscar.aguilar@ucsf.edu.

PMID: 37295976
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.05.003

Abstract

Incomplete X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) can cause differences between sexes. Cheng et al. identified that the histone demethylase UTX, encoded by an X chromosome gene that escapes XCI, contributes to sex differences in natural killer (NK) cells, whereby males have increased NK cell numbers while female NK cells have enhanced responsiveness.

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Killer Cells, Natural
Male
X Chromosome Inactivation* / genetics
X Chromosome*