2026-10-11T19:38:46Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34038654 2026-10-01T04:35:41Z category_696 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Data Sheet 1_Female hormones enhance skin T cell expansion and suppress IFN-γ production.pdf Rajia Bahri (134947) Chiara Tontini (21243527) Orsolya Kiss (6335438) Abigail K. Langton (16795254) Victoria L. Newton (25151991) Mike Bell (2593114) Silvia Bulfone-Paus (134959) Genetic Immunology estrogen receptor hormone replacement therapy menopause peripheral blood mononuclear cells sodium lauryl sulfate skin immune response Introduction<p>Estrogen receptors (ERs) regulate immune function, but their expression across immune cell subsets and hormone responsiveness in human skin are not fully understood.</p>Methods<p>We used 10-color flow cytometry to quantify ER (ERα, ERβ, and GPER1) expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors. We analyzed sex hormone gene expression using public single-cell RNA datasets. Skin immune responses to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) were assessed in pre- and post-menopausal women, with or without hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Furthermore, we measured the production of mediators in the ER expressing immune cytotoxic cells, specifically T and NK cells, in response to pre- and post-menopausal hormone cocktails.</p>Results<p>ERα was predominantly expressed on the membrane of NK and NKT cells, while ERβ was mainly intracellular and showed low expression across subsets. GPER1 displayed a similar membrane distribution to ERα but at lower expression levels. T cells displayed moderate membrane ERα and lower GPER1 expression. Gene expression analysis in women revealed strong ESR1 and ESR2 expression in T cells. In inflamed skin, HRT selectively increased T cell numbers after SLS exposure in post-menopausal women. In vitro, female hormones dose-dependently decreased IFN-γ production in T and NK cells but did not alter cytotoxic mediator production in these cells.</p>Conclusions<p>ER expression levels and localization vary by immune cell subset, indicating that estrogen modulates immune responses in a cell-specific manner. Sex hormones differentially impact T and NK cell populations during skin inflammation, by increasing T cell numbers and, reducing IFN-γ, without altering cytotoxic activity. These findings demonstrate that female sex hormones significantly influence immune responses in inflamed and aging skin and may guide the development of targeted therapeutic strategies.</p> 2026-10-01T04:35:41Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1903552.s003 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Female_hormones_enhance_skin_T_cell_expansion_and_suppress_IFN-_production_pdf/34038654 CC BY 4.0