Science in gender difference of brain functions

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21508
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 48:Biomedical structure and function and related fields
• Research Institution: Tokyo Women's Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Miyata Mariko 東京女子医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (70281631)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 金谷 萌子 東京女子医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (00759805)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 痛覚 / 炎症性疼痛 / 性差 / ミクログリア / T細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

There is a sex difference in pain sensitivity, in which females are more sensitive to nociceptive stimuli. In this study, we determined the effects of sex steroids on the sex difference in pain by examining masculinized female mice sex-steroid injected during neonatal period. It was suggested that neonatal sex steroids may induce a male-typed inflammatory pain response. It has been reported that microglia and T cells play a pivotal role in the regulation of chronic pain, with sexual dimorphism in their functions. However, in the inflammatory pain model utilized in this study, T cells were not involved in the observed sexual dimorphism, and there was presumably a difference in the control mechanism of microglia between sexes. Further research is needed to explore the effects of neonatal sex steroids on immune cells function.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

痛みを減弱・緩和することは、QOLの向上に重要である。痛みの受容にはヒトを含めた動物で、オスよりメスの方が痛みを感じやすく、メスの方が痛みが慢性化しやすいという性差がある。そのため、痛みの性差医療という点で考えると、性別を考慮した鎮痛や除痛に繋がる疼痛の性差メカニズムの解明が必要である。今回、発達期の性ステロイドが痛みの性差の形成に及ぼす影響を調べたことで、その一端が明らかとなった。