%0 Journal Article %J Sci Rep %D 2022 %T Sex difference in innate inflammatory response and macrophage polarization in Streptococcus agalactiae-induced pneumonia and potential role of microRNA-223-3p. %A Maud Deny %A Luis Alexis Arroba Nuñez %A Georges Casimir %Y Marta Romano %Y Denis, Olivier %? Mustapha Chamekh %K Animals %K Antagomirs %K Cytokines %K Female %K Inflammation %K Macrophages %K Male %K mice %K MicroRNAs %K Pneumonia %K Sex Characteristics %K Streptococcus agalactiae %X

While number of studies have shown that biological sex is a risk factor in the incidence and severity of infection-induced inflammatory diseases, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, we compared the innate inflammatory response in male and female mice with group B streptococcal (GBS)-induced pneumoniae. Although male and female mice displayed similar bacterial burdens, males exhibited more innate inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and a higher proportion of infiltrating monocytes/macrophages. The analysis of the distribution of macrophage subtypes M1 (pro-inflammatory) versus M2 (anti-inflammatory) yielded a higher M1/M2 ratio in infected males compared with females. Given the importance of the chromosome X-linked microRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) in modulating the inflammatory process and macrophage polarization, we investigated its potential contribution in sex bias of GBS-induced innate inflammatory response. Knock-down of miR-223-3p with specific antagomiR resulted in increased inflammatory response and higher M1/M2 ratio following GBS infection. Notably, compared to male mice, we detected higher amount of miR-223-3p in macrophages from females that correlated negatively with M1 phenotype. These results suggest that differential expression of miR-233-3p may impact macrophage polarization, thereby contributing to fine-tune sex differences in inflammatory response.

%B Sci Rep %V 12 %8 2022 Oct 12 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1038/s41598-022-21587-5