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Tharp ME, Han CZ, Balak CD, Fitzpatrick C, O'Connor C, Preissl S, Buchanan J, Nott A, Escoubet L, Mavrommatis K, Gupta M, Schwartz MS, Sang UH, Jones PS, Levy ML, Gonda DD, Ben-Haim S, Ciacci J, Barba D, Khalessi A, Coufal NG, Chen CC, Glass CK, Page DC. The inactive X chromosome drives sex differences in microglial inflammatory activity in human glioblastoma. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.06.597433. [PMID: 38895459 PMCID: PMC11185629 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.06.597433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Biological sex is an important risk factor in cancer, but the underlying cell types and mechanisms remain obscure. Since tumor development is regulated by the immune system, we hypothesize that sex-biased immune interactions underpin sex differences in cancer. The male-biased glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive and treatment-refractory tumor in urgent need of more innovative approaches, such as considering sex differences, to improve outcomes. GBM arises in the specialized brain immune environment dominated by microglia, so we explored sex differences in this immune cell type. We isolated adult human TAM-MGs (tumor-associated macrophages enriched for microglia) and control microglia and found sex-biased inflammatory signatures in GBM and lower-grade tumors associated with pro-tumorigenic activity in males and anti-tumorigenic activity in females. We demonstrated that genes expressed or modulated by the inactive X chromosome facilitate this bias. Together, our results implicate TAM-MGs, specifically their sex chromosomes, as drivers of male bias in GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marla E Tharp
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Claudia Z Han
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Chris D Balak
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Conor Fitzpatrick
- Flow Cytometry Core Facility, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Carolyn O'Connor
- Flow Cytometry Core Facility, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Sebastian Preissl
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Present address: Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Justin Buchanan
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Alexi Nott
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Mihir Gupta
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Present address: Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Marc S Schwartz
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - U Hoi Sang
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Pamela S Jones
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Present address: Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Michael L Levy
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego-Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - David D Gonda
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego-Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Sharona Ben-Haim
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Joseph Ciacci
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - David Barba
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Alexander Khalessi
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Nicole G Coufal
- Department of Pediatrics University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Clark C Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Present address: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Christopher K Glass
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - David C Page
- Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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