IntroductionBiological sex has been shown to influence immune function and inflammatory responses. However, most preclinical studies in spinal cord injury (SCI) have predominantly used female animals, potentially introducing a sex bias in our understanding of post-injury inflammation.
Given the central role of inflammation in secondary pathology and repair after SCI, males and females are likely to respond differently to this condition, with sex-dependent immune differences potentially shaping injury outcomes. In this study, we explored how biological sex shapes the course of inflammation after SCI and its potential impact on functional recovery.MethodsLocomotor recovery in the SCI mouse model was assessed using the Basso Mouse Scale (BMS).
Autonomic recovery was analyzed through the spontaneous void spot assay. Peripheral and local immune responses were characterized by flow cytometry of blood and spinal cord samples, respectively, to track the temporal dynamics of distinct immune cell populations across acute and chronic stages of injury.ResultsWe found that, acutely after SCI, males exhibit higher frequencies of circulating myeloid cells, whereas females show higher numbers of these cells in the spinal cord, suggesting delayed myeloid infiltration in males.
Frontiers in Immunology published a clinical update in Infectious Disease on 25 May 2026.
The item focuses on Sex differences in peripheral and local immune responses following spinal cord injury.
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