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The new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) appearance in Wuhan, China, did rise the new virus disease (COVID-19), which spread globally in a short time, leading the World Health Organization to declare a new global pandemic. To contain and mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, specific public health procedures were implemented in virtually all countries, with a significant impact on society, making it difficult to keep the regular practice of physical activity. It is widely accepted that an active lifestyle contributes to the improvement of general health and preservation of cardiovascular, respiratory, osteo-muscular and immune system capacities. The positive effects of regular physical activity on the immune system have emerged as a pivotal trigger of general health, underlying the beneficial effects of physical activity on multiple physiological systems. Accordingly, recent studies have already pointed out the negative impact of physical inactivity caused by the social isolation imposed by the public sanitary authorities due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, there are still no current narrative reviews evaluating the real impact of COVID-19 on active lifestyle or even discussing the possible beneficial effects of exercise-promoted immune upgrade against the severity or progression of COVID-19. Based on the consensus in the scientific literature, in this review, we discuss how an exercise adherence could adequately improve immune responses in times of the 'COVID-19 Era and beyond'., (© 2021 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: In neonatology, males exhibit a more severe disease course and poorer prognosis in many pathological states when compared to females. Perinatal brain injury, respiratory morbidity, and sepsis, among other complications, preferentially affect males. Preterm neonates (born <37 weeks gestation) display a particularly marked sexual disparity in pathology, especially at the borders of viability. The sex biases in preterm neonatal outcomes and underlying multifactorial mechanisms have been incompletely explored. Sex-specific clinical phenomena may be partially explained by intrinsic differences in immune function. The distinct immune system of preterm neonates renders this patient population vulnerable, and it is increasingly important to consider biological sex in disease processes and to strive for improved outcomes for both sexes. Areas covered: We discuss the cellular responses and molecular intermediates in immune function which are strongly dependent on sex-specific factors such as the genetic and hormonal milieu of premature birth and consider novel findings in a clinical context. Expert commentary: The role of immune function in the manifestation of sex-specific disease manifestations and outcomes in preterm neonates is a critical prognostic variable. Further mechanistic elucidation will yield valuable translational and clinical information of disease processes in preterm neonates which may be harnessed for modulation.

The effects of sex hormones on immune function have received much attention, especially following the proposal of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Many studies, both experimental and correlational, have been conducted to test the relationship between immune function and the sex hormones testosterone in males and oestrogen in females. However, the results are mixed. We conducted four cross-species meta-analyses to investigate the relationship between sex hormones and immune function: (i) the effect of testosterone manipulation on immune function in males, (ii) the correlation between circulating testosterone level and immune function in males, (iii) the effect of oestrogen manipulation on immune function in females, and (iv) the correlation between circulating oestrogen level and immune function in females. The results from the experimental studies showed that testosterone had a medium-sized immunosuppressive effect on immune function. The effect of oestrogen, on the other hand, depended on the immune measure used. Oestrogen suppressed cell-mediated immune function while reducing parasite loads. The overall correlation (meta-analytic relationship) between circulating sex hormone level and immune function was not statistically significant for either testosterone or oestrogen despite the power of meta-analysis. These results suggest that correlational studies have limited value for testing the effects of sex hormones on immune function. We found little evidence of publication bias in the four data sets using indirect tests. There was a weak and positive relationship between year of publication and effect size for experimental studies of testosterone that became non-significant after we controlled for castration and immune measure, suggesting that the temporal trend was due to changes in these moderators over time. Graphical analyses suggest that the temporal trend was due to an increased use of cytokine measures across time. We found substantial heterogeneity in effect sizes, except in correlational studies of testosterone, even after we accounted for the relevant random and fixed factors. In conclusion, our results provide good evidence that testosterone suppresses immune function and that the effect of oestrogen varies depending on the immune measure used., (© 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

Purpose of the Study: Male-based studies, both at the biochemical and at the pre-clinical/clinical trial levels, still predominate in the scientific community. Many studies are based on the wrong assumption that both sexes are fundamentally identical in their response to treatments. As a result, findings obtained mainly in males are applied to females, resulting in negative consequences female patients. In cancer immunotherapy, there is still a scarce focus on this topic. Here we review the main differences in immune modulation and immune system biology between males and females with a particular focus on how these differences affect cancer immunotherapy and cancer vaccines., Methods: We reviewed articles published on PubMed from 1999 to 2014, using the keywords: sex hormones, immune response, estrogen, immunotherapy, testosterone, cancer vaccines, sex-based medicine. We also present new data wherein the expression of the cancer testis antigen, Ropporin-1, was determined in patients with multiple myeloma, showing that the expression of Ropporin-1 was influenced by sex., Results: Male and female immune systems display radical differences mainly due to the immune regulatory effects of sex hormones. These differences might have a dramatic impact on the immunological treatment of cancer. Moreover, the expression of tumor antigens that can be targeted by anti-cancer vaccines is associated with sex., Conclusion: Future clinical trials focusing on cancer immunotherapy will need to take into account the differences in the immune response and in the frequency of target antigen expression between male and females, in order to optimize these anti-cancer immunotherapies of the third millennium.

The role of sex hormones is profound and diverse. The gender and age differences in TB incidences suggest a role of hormones. These data, together with their relevance to the epidemiology of tuberculosis, are gathered and analyzed in this review. The underlying network of hormones functionalities in TB is also proposed.