How does sex influence chronic inflammatory disease?

Coordinators: E. Gaffal (UzL), T. Zeller (UzL)

Sex can influence the risk of developing a chronic inflammatory disease (CID), its symptoms, response to treatment and long-term outcome. Yet the biological mechanisms behind these differences remain poorly understood. Furthermore, sex diversity should also be considered, going beyond a simple binary comparison and encompassing the diversity of biological factors, including sex chromosomes, X-chromosome inactivation, hormones and cell-specific molecular processes.

TI-4 combines single-cell multi-omics with machine learning to investigate the genetic mechanisms underlying sex differences across tissues, with a particular focus on immune cells and sex diversity. We will develop a sex diversity score for individual cell types. The aim is to understand how sex shapes immune responses and contributes to differences in disease susceptibility and treatment efficacy. This could ultimately help make risk assessment and treatment strategies more precise.