IMMUNOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES IN NONSPECIFIC ULCERATIVE COLITIS DEPENDING ON GENDER
O. Yaremko1, R. Peleno1, I. Mazur1, R. Mylostyvyi2, D. Mylostiva3, A. Babchenko3
- Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies Lviv, Ukraine
- Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University, Ukraine
- Dnipropetrovsk Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz71.05.065

Abstract
The study of the mechanisms underlying ulcerative colitis
(UC) remains a pressing issue. Limited data exist on sex-
related differences in immune responses and intestinal damage
in UC. This study aimed to investigate the immunological
characteristics of UC in relation to sex. Using a model of
acute and chronic UC induced by 1% dextran sulfate sodium
(DSS) in rats, sex-specific differences in the subpopulation
composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes were examined.
In healthy animals, females had a 4.89-fold higher number of
CD4
+
CD25
+
Foxp3
+
regulatory T cells compared to males.
In chronic UC, females showed a significant decrease in the
number of leukocytes, lymphocytes, T-helper cells, and B-
lymphocytes by 59.3%, 51.4%, 91.7%, and 79.0%, respectively.
In contrast, the number of regulatory T-lymphocytes increased,
which may be associated with enhanced thymic differentiation
and their migration to sites of inflammation. These findings
highlight fundamental sex-based immunological differences
in UC and support the need to consider sex when selecting
immunomodulatory therapies.
Keywords:
inflammation, intestine, immune response, sex differences, lymphocyte subpopulations
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