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Sex in basic research: concepts in the cardiovascular field

Item Type:Review
Title:Sex in basic research: concepts in the cardiovascular field
Creators Name:Ventura-Clapier, R. and Dworatzek, E. and Seeland, U. and Kararigas, G. and Arnal, J.F. and Brunelleschi, S. and Carpenter, T.C. and Erdmann, J. and Franconi, F. and Giannetta, E. and Glezerman, M. and Hofmann, S.M. and Junien, C. and Katai, M. and Kublickiene, K. and Koenig, I.R. and Majdic, G. and Malorni, W. and Mieth, C. and Miller, V.M. and Reynolds, R.M. and Shimokawa, H. and Tannenbaum, C. and D'Ursi, A.M. and Regitz-Zagrosek, V.
Abstract:Women and men, female and male animals and cells are biologically different, and acknowledgement of this fact is critical to advancing medicine. However, incorporating concepts of sex-specific analysis in basic research is largely neglected, introducing bias into translational findings, clinical concepts and drug development. Research funding agencies recently approached these issues but implementation of policy changes in the scientific community is still limited, probably due to deficits in concepts, knowledge and proper methodology. This expert review is based on the EUGenMed project (www.eugenmed.eu) developing a roadmap for implementing sex and gender in biomedical and health research. For sake of clarity and conciseness, examples are mainly taken from the cardiovascular field that may serve as a paradigm for others, since a significant amount of knowledge how sex and oestrogen determine the manifestation of many cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been accumulated. As main concepts for implementation of sex in basic research, the study of primary cell and animals of both sexes, the study of the influence of genetic vs. hormonal factors and the analysis of sex chromosomes and sex specific statistics in genome wide association studies (GWAS) are discussed. The review also discusses methodological issues, and analyses strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in implementing sex-sensitive aspects into basic research.
Keywords:Sex, Basic Research, Chromosomes, Hormones, Animal Models, Cardiac Cell Models, Animals
Source:Cardiovascular Research
ISSN:0008-6363
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Volume:113
Number:7
Page Range:711-724
Date:June 2017
Additional Information:Copyright © The Authors 2017. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Official Publication:https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvx066
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PubMed:View item in PubMed

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