We investigated the induction of type I interferons upon TLR7/8 stimulation on sorted pDC. PBMCs were stimulated for 2 h with a synthetic TLR7/8 ligand. pDC cells were isolated by flow-based sorting and subsequently mRNA was isolated.
qRT-PCR revealed a sex-specific differential expression of type I Interferons, with pDC from females showing a higher expression level of corresponding interferons compared to males, including all IFNα-subtypes (p = 0.003), as well as type III Interferons (IFNλ1 p = 0.03). Of note, pDCs from females also showed higher IFNβ expression (p = 0.059), which is part of the initial wave of gene transcription that triggers a positive feedback loop, leading to the induction of additional IFNα-encoding genes.
These data demonstrate that sex-specific differences described in response to HIV-1 are associated with enhanced expression of several Interferons, with IFNβ being potentially responsible for the initiation of differential type I Interferon production between males and females.