Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow, Dr. William Ambler was selected as an NIH Metzger Scholar in Translational Research for his project, “Role of sex hormones in neutrophil sex differences in health and systemic lupus erythematosus.”
Neutrophils are a type of white blood cells, called leukocytes, that act as your immune system's first line of defense. They’re also known to display sexual differences in phenotype and function in healthy individuals. Female neutrophils are more mature, have a heightened response to type 1 interferon, and have reduced mitochondrial respiration. These differences are likely related to sex hormone exposure. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease with significant female bias, neutrophils play an important role in disease pathogenesis and disease-related tissue injury. In this study, Dr. Ambler will investigate the mechanism of sex hormonal impact on neutrophils in murine models and evaluate neutrophil sex differences in SLE patients.
By understanding the mechanisms of sex differences in neutrophils, Dr. Ambler's study will provide insight into sex differences in the immune response in SLE disease pathogenesis as well as in many other diseases.