Study findings from University of Munich broaden understanding of hormones.

" Gender-specific immune responses have been found after trauma-hemorrhage. Male and female sex hormones seem to be responsible for this gender dimorphism," scientists writing in the journal Langenbecks Archives of Surgery report (see also Hormones).

"Alterations in sex hormone receptor expression in mice appear to contribute to the immunomodulatory effect of sex hormones after blood loss. The effect of surgical trauma on the expression of sex hormone receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients, however, remains unknown. Materials and methods PBMCs were obtained from 14 patients (7 men and 7 women) undergoing major abdominal surgery preoperatively and 2 h postoperatively. The expression of the androgen and the estrogen alpha- and beta- receptors were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). beta-Actin was used as housekeeping gene. The results indicate that surgical trauma has no influence on the expression of the androgen receptor and the estrogen receptors alpha and beta in male and female patients. The data demonstrate that, in contrast to mice, no alterations in the expression of androgen and estrogen hormone receptors were evident after surgery in patients," wrote S.A. ...