About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

79 Genus 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/genus79 and id is 1 raw text is: Genus lannuzzietal.Genus (2023) 79:1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-023-00181-1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Open Access The role of genetics and epigenetics in sex differences in human survival Vincenzo lannuzzil, Maria Giulia Bacalini2, Claudio Franceschi3 and Cristina Giulianil: *Correspondence: cristina.giuliani2@unibo.it ' Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology and Centre for Genome Biology, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna,Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy F IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche DI Bologna, Bologna, Italy 3 Department of Applied Mathematics and Laboratory of Systems Biology of Aging, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia - Springer Open Abstract Sex differences in human survival have been extensively investigated in many studies that have in part uncovered the biological determinants that promote a longer life in females with respect to males. Moreover, researches performed in the past years have prompted increased awareness about the biological effects of environmental fac- tors that can modulate the magnitude of the sex gap in survival. Besides the genetic background, epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation, that can modulate cell function, have been particularly studied in this framework. In this review, we aim to summarize the role of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in promoting female advantage from the early in life (INNATEfeatures), and in influencing the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival and ageing (VARIABLEfeatures). After briefly discussing the biological bases of sex determination in humans, we will provide much evidence showing that (i) innate mechanisms common to all males and to all females (both genetic and epigenetic) play a major role in sex differences in lifespan; (ii) vari- ablegenetic and epigenetic patterns, that vary according to context, populations and exposures to different environments, can affect the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival.Then we will describe recent findings in the use of epigenetic clocks to uncover sex differences in biological age and thus potentially in mortality. In conclusion, we will discuss how environmental factors cannot be kept apart from the biological factors providing evidence from the field of human ecology. Keywords: Survival, Lifespan, Genetics, Epigenetics, Sex chromosomes, DNA methylation, Epigenetic clocks Introduction It is well known that females generally live longer than males in most mammals, includ- ing apes (Austad & Fischer, 2016; Bronikowski et al., 2022; Clutton-Brock & Isvaran, 2007; Lemaitre et al., 2020). Females outlive males in almost all modern human popu- lations, even under extreme events, such as famines, epidemics, and slavery (Colchero et al., 2016; Higg & Jylhava, 2021; Zarulli et al., 2018). However, the magnitude of this gap is variable and it is mainly shaped by complex interactions between biological and environmental factors that in humans also include sociocultural aspects (Lemaitre et al., 2020). Data from German cloistered populations collected for the years 1890 to 1995 OThe Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the mate- rial. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.To view a copy of this licence, visit http/ creativecommons.orcq/licenses/bv/4.0/.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most