# Microbiome and sex chromosome complement interact in sexually dimorphic immunity

> **NIH NIH R21** · WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $190,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
Sex differences in immune responses are well-recognized, with females being less susceptible to infection, but
10X more likely to develop autoimmune disease than males. The involvement of individual sex-specific factors,
including: sex hormones, sex chromosome complements and microbiomes, have been identified. However, there
is a critical gap in our understanding of the mechanisms by which these factors mediate sex-specific responses.
In addition, it is not known if or how these factors interact to regulate the overall responsiveness of the male vs.
female immune systems.
The current proposal will test whether gut microbiome metabolites, specifically short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs),
induce sex-specific responses by promoting the bi-allelic expression of X-linked immune-related genes in
females. Most previous microbiome studies have focused on identifying sex-specific microbiome populations
with distinct metabolic capabilities to explain sexually dimorphic responses. However, our preliminary data
suggests that similar levels of SCFAs can differentially regulate humoral immune responses in a manner that is
XX-dependent. We hypothesize that SCFAs contribute to sexually dimorphic immune responses by utilizing
epigenetic regulatory mechanisms to differentially influence immune-related gene expression in an XX vs. XY-
dependent manner. This hypotheses will be addressed in two Specific Aims. Specific Aim 1 will determine if
SCFA-mediated HDAC inhibition increases B cell activation by promoting the bi-allelic expression of X-linked
immune-related genes. Specific Aim 2 will evaluate the potential for SCFAs to enhance humoral immune
responses to heat-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae (HKSP)-immunization in an XX-dependent manner.
By defining the underlying mechanisms that contribute to sex-specific response, the proposed research will
contribute to the development of better treatment strategies to combat sex-biased autoimmune and inflammatory
diseases, and improved vaccine efficacies. These studies are also relevant as gut microbiome metabolites are
being marketed as potential immuno-therapeutics, due to their immunomodulatory activities. Prebiotics,
probiotics and SCFA supplements are readily available over-the-counter, and most recently, SCFAs have been
proposed as treatments for several immune-related disorders. However, few studies have investigated the
potential for these compounds to exert sex-specific immune effects and, to our knowledge, no previous study
has addressed the possibility that such effects may occur in a sex chromosome complement-dependent manner.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9931138
- **Project number:** 5R21AI146376-02
- **Recipient organization:** WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Franko
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $190,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-17 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9931138

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9931138, Microbiome and sex chromosome complement interact in sexually dimorphic immunity (5R21AI146376-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9931138. Licensed CC0.

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