Description
The goal of this study was to examine whether immune responses to Plasmodium chabaudi infection differ between the sexes and are altered by the presence of gonadal steroids. Gonadally-intact males were more likely than intact females to die following P. chabaudi infection, exhibit slower recovery from infection-associated weight loss, hypothermia, and anemia, have reduced IFN-associated gene expression and IFN production during peak parasitemia, and produce less antibody during the recovery phase of infection. Gonadectomy of male and female mice altered these sex-associated differences, suggesting that sex steroid hormone, in particular androgens and estrogens, may modulate immune responses to infection.