Doctors and scientists increasingly have come to appreciate the importance of biological sex both in developing new treatments and in understanding fundamental cellular processes essential to good health.
However, research tools that consider key aspects of biological sex are in short supply. The tools could improve patient outcomes and transform how diseases are treated.
For example, sex chromosomes are known to play important roles in a wide range of diseases, from heart problems to Alzheimer’s.
“We know so much about the consequences of being male or female for many disease conditions,” said Dr. Bradley D. Gelfand of UVA’s Center for Advanced Vision Science (CAVS). “What we don’t yet have a complete handle on is why sex plays such a crucial role in human health. We hope that by drawing attention to this blind spot in the research community that new tools and approaches will be developed.”
In a new scientific paper, Gelfand and Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati maintain that protein-based research resources have failed to keep up with an evolving understanding. Current approaches do provide scientists with adequate clues for sex-specific discoveries that could have huge benefits, which means a treasure trove of medical advances are going undiscovered.
Huge progress has been made in including women in medical research, from fundamental lab research to clinical trials testing new treatments, according to Gelfand and Ambati. The National Institutes of Health, the European Commission and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research all require scientists to consider the potential role of sex. But protein-based research still has a glaring blind spot when it comes to sex.
Important genetic research resources have not been refined to distinguish the effects of the sex chromosomes. Males have an X and a Y chromosome and females have two X chromosomes. The chromosomes contain genetic blueprints or the operating instructions for cells. The genes in chromosomes make cellular proteins instrumental in carrying out operating instructions and can play important roles in disease.
“With currently available research tools that are unable to differentiate between X and Y genetic components, we simply don’t know what we don’t know,” Gelfand said. “Improving our ability to measure these could be the key to better and more personalized care.”
Ambati added, “High-fidelity resources and reagents related to sex chromosomes are critical to advance scientifically accurate conclusions about sex-based differences.”
Gelfand and Ambati’s article has been published in the prestigious journal Science.
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Rebecca Barnabi
