Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Estrogens and autoimmune diseases.

Maurizio Cutolo1, Silvia Capellino, Alberto Sulli

  • 1Research Laboratory and Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy. mcutolo@unige.it

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|January 31, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An Engineered Glove for the Objective Assessment of Hand Dexterity in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis.

ACR open rheumatology·2026
Same author

Hand bone densitometry associates with nailfold capillaroscopic severity of microvascular damage in systemic sclerosis: a pilot study.

Clinical and experimental rheumatology·2026
Same author

Fibromyalgia: the Italian survey by the ministry of health.

Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·2026
Same author

Frailty phenotypes and determinants of glucocorticoid-related adverse events in polymyalgia rheumatica at 12 months: a real-life single-center investigation.

Clinical rheumatology·2026
Same author

Clinical practice guidelines for reporting nail fold videocapillaroscopy: a Delphi consensus on behalf of the Italian Society of Rheumatology study group on capillaroscopy.

Clinical and experimental rheumatology·2026
Same author

Circulating monocytes from systemic sclerosis patients with progressive interstitial lung disease preferentially express M2 phenotype markers: in vitro and ex vivo study.

RMD open·2025

Sex hormones influence immune responses, with altered levels potentially driving autoimmune rheumatic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Estrogen increases and androgen decreases are noted in conditions such as RA.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Endocrinology
  • Rheumatology

Background:

  • Sex hormones significantly modulate immune system function, with estrogens generally enhancing humoral immunity and androgens/progesterone acting as immunosuppressants.
  • Various physiological and pathological states, including inflammatory conditions, alter sex hormone levels and ratios, impacting immune regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of sex hormones, particularly estrogens, in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  • To explore the relationship between inflammatory cytokines, aromatase activity, and sex hormone synthesis in RA patients.
  • To examine the local effects of sex hormones within synovial fluids and their potential differential impact on treatment responses in male versus female RA patients.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of sex hormone levels and ratios in serum and synovial fluids of patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
  • Investigation of the influence of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-6) on aromatase activity and estrogen synthesis.
  • Comparison of treatment efficacy (anti-TNFalpha strategies) between male and female RA patients.

Main Results:

  • Elevated estrogen concentrations, specifically 16alpha-hydroxyestrone, were found in the synovial fluids of RA patients of both sexes.
  • Abnormal regulation of aromatase activity by inflammatory cytokines contributes to altered peripheral estrogen synthesis in RA and SLE.
  • RA patients exhibited decreased levels of androgens and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), alongside altered circadian rhythms of cortisol and melatonin.
  • Male RA patients appeared to benefit more from anti-TNFalpha therapies compared to female patients.

Conclusions:

  • Altered sex hormone profiles, particularly increased local estrogen availability and decreased androgens, are implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
  • Local sex hormone effects in rheumatic diseases involve the modulation of cell proliferation and cytokine production.
  • Sex-specific differences in response to anti-cytokine therapies suggest a role for sex hormones in treatment outcomes for RA.