While the gender gap in immune reactions has long been known, the mechanism behind it has remained a mystery. But in this study, the scientists identified a handful of genes, apparently regulated by testosterone, that they think are a key part of the response mechanism. The higher the testosterone levels of a participant, the lower the immunological reaction to vaccination.
Generally speaking, women have stronger immune system responses than men. The good news for women is that this “show no mercy” response means they are less prone to bacterial, viral, fungal and other types of infection than the dudes are. The flip side, however, is that women’s immune systems are more likely to overreact.
When an immune system is overstimulated, it can attack healthy tissue, which is what happens with autoimmune diseases such as lupus. It can also cause potentially fatal post-infection complications, such as a cytokine storm after getting the flu, in which an overproduction of immune cells overwhelm the body’s normal functions. This is also the reason for getting 10 times more autoimmune diseases.
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