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Heart tissue with XX chromosomes has a higher concentration of cells (colored green, with blue nuclei) that promote scarring than do cells with XY chromosomes.
Brian Aguado, CC BY-NC-ND
We found that the cells we grew on our hydrogel models were able to replicate the sex differences seen in valve tissue – namely, valve cells with XX chromosomes had more scarring than cells with XY chromosomes. Moreover, when we decreased the activity of genes that escaped X-inactivation, we were able to decrease scarring in XX chromosome cells.
Our next step was to use our models to determine which treatments work best for AVS based on cell sex. We found that XX valve cells were less sensitive than XY cells to these drugs that targeted genes that promote scarring. Drugs that specifically target genes that escape X-inactivation, however, have a stronger effect on XX cells.
Equitable care for all
Sex and gender disparities in cardiovascular disease are rampant. For example, women are less likely than men to be prescribed cardiovascular medications despite guideline recommendations, and transgender individuals have higher rates of heart attacks than do cisgender folks.
Our work takes one more step toward achieving equity in developing medical therapeutics for cardiovascular disease. By taking sex chromosomes into consideration, my team and I believe that treatment strategies can be optimized for everyone, irrespective of cell “seXX.”
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Brian Aguado, Assistant Professor, University of California San Diego
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.