Minipuberty and Sexual Dimorphism in the Infant Human Thymus

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 13169 - 13
• Main Authors: Moreira-Filho, Carlos Alberto, Bando, Silvia Yumi, Bertonha, Fernanda Bernardi, Ferreira, Leandro Rodrigues, Vinhas, Christiana de Freitas, Oliveira, Lucila Habib Bourguignon, Zerbini, Maria Claudia Nogueira, Furlanetto, Glaucio, Chaccur, Paulo, Carneiro-Sampaio, Magda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.09.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 38; 45; 45/61; 631/250/38; 692/308/2056; AIRE Protein; Autoimmune diseases; Estrogens; Estrogens - metabolism; Female; Gender differences; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gene Ontology; Gene regulation; Gene Regulatory Networks; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infant; Infants; Male; MicroRNAs - classification; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; miRNA; Molecular Sequence Annotation; multidisciplinary; Puberty; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sex Characteristics; Sex differences; Sex Factors; Sex hormones; Sexual dimorphism; Thymus; Thymus Gland - growth & development; Thymus Gland - metabolism; Transcription; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31583-3

AIRE expression in thymus is downregulated by estrogen after puberty, what probably renders women more susceptible to autoimmune disorders. Here we investigated the effects of minipuberty on male and female infant human thymic tissue in order to verify if this initial transient increase in sex hormones - along the first six months of life - could affect thymic transcriptional network regulation and AIRE expression. Gene co-expression network analysis for differentially expressed genes and miRNA-target analysis revealed sex differences in thymic tissue during minipuberty, but such differences were not detected in the thymic tissue of infants aged 7–18 months, i.e. the non-puberty group. AIRE expression was essentially the same in both sexes in minipuberty and in non-puberty groups, as assessed by genomic and immunohistochemical assays. However, AIRE -interactors networks showed several differences in all groups regarding gene-gene expression correlation. Therefore, minipuberty and genomic mechanisms interact in shaping thymic sexual dimorphism along the first six months of life.