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Human studies of mitochondrial biology demonstrate an overall lack of binary sex differences : A multivariate meta-analysis

Junker, Alex ; Wang, Jennifer ; Gouspillou, Gilles ; Ehinger, Johannes K. LU orcid ; Elmér, Eskil LU orcid ; Sjövall, Fredrik LU orcid ; Fisher-Wellman, Kelsey H. ; Neufer, P. Darrell ; Molina, Anthony J.A. and Ferrucci, Luigi , et al. (2022) In FASEB Journal 36(2).
Abstract

Mitochondria are maternally inherited organelles that play critical tissue-specific roles, including hormone synthesis and energy production, that influence human development, health, and aging. However, whether mitochondria from women and men exhibit consistent biological differences remains unclear, representing a major gap in knowledge. This meta-analysis systematically examined four domains and six subdomains of mitochondrial biology (total 39 measures), including mitochondrial content, respiratory capacity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, morphometry, and mitochondrial DNA copy number. Standardized effect sizes (Hedge's g) of sex differences were computed for each measure using data in 2258 participants (51.5% women) from... (More)

Mitochondria are maternally inherited organelles that play critical tissue-specific roles, including hormone synthesis and energy production, that influence human development, health, and aging. However, whether mitochondria from women and men exhibit consistent biological differences remains unclear, representing a major gap in knowledge. This meta-analysis systematically examined four domains and six subdomains of mitochondrial biology (total 39 measures), including mitochondrial content, respiratory capacity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, morphometry, and mitochondrial DNA copy number. Standardized effect sizes (Hedge's g) of sex differences were computed for each measure using data in 2258 participants (51.5% women) from 50 studies. Only two measures demonstrated aggregate binary sex differences: higher mitochondrial content in women's WAT and isolated leukocyte subpopulations (g = 0.20, χ2 p =.01), and higher ROS production in men's skeletal muscle (g = 0.49, χ2 p <.0001). Sex differences showed weak to no correlation with age or BMI. Studies with small sample sizes tended to overestimate effect sizes (r = −.17, p <.001), and sex differences varied by tissue examined. Our findings point to a wide variability of findings in the literature concerning possible binary sex differences in mitochondrial biology. Studies specifically designed to capture sex- and gender-related differences in mitochondrial biology are needed, including detailed considerations of physical activity and sex hormones.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
FASEB Journal
volume
36
issue
2
article number
e22146
publisher
Wiley
external identifiers
  • pmid:35073429
  • scopus:85123747111
ISSN
0892-6638
DOI
10.1096/fj.202101628R
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
78d85225-09c1-4bb6-9a15-ace2b890091f
date added to LUP
2022-03-25 11:39:26
date last changed
2024-04-04 04:08:27
@article{78d85225-09c1-4bb6-9a15-ace2b890091f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Mitochondria are maternally inherited organelles that play critical tissue-specific roles, including hormone synthesis and energy production, that influence human development, health, and aging. However, whether mitochondria from women and men exhibit consistent biological differences remains unclear, representing a major gap in knowledge. This meta-analysis systematically examined four domains and six subdomains of mitochondrial biology (total 39 measures), including mitochondrial content, respiratory capacity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, morphometry, and mitochondrial DNA copy number. Standardized effect sizes (Hedge's g) of sex differences were computed for each measure using data in 2258 participants (51.5% women) from 50 studies. Only two measures demonstrated aggregate binary sex differences: higher mitochondrial content in women's WAT and isolated leukocyte subpopulations (g = 0.20, χ<sup>2</sup> p =.01), and higher ROS production in men's skeletal muscle (g = 0.49, χ<sup>2</sup> p &lt;.0001). Sex differences showed weak to no correlation with age or BMI. Studies with small sample sizes tended to overestimate effect sizes (r = −.17, p &lt;.001), and sex differences varied by tissue examined. Our findings point to a wide variability of findings in the literature concerning possible binary sex differences in mitochondrial biology. Studies specifically designed to capture sex- and gender-related differences in mitochondrial biology are needed, including detailed considerations of physical activity and sex hormones.</p>}},
  author       = {{Junker, Alex and Wang, Jennifer and Gouspillou, Gilles and Ehinger, Johannes K. and Elmér, Eskil and Sjövall, Fredrik and Fisher-Wellman, Kelsey H. and Neufer, P. Darrell and Molina, Anthony J.A. and Ferrucci, Luigi and Picard, Martin}},
  issn         = {{0892-6638}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley}},
  series       = {{FASEB Journal}},
  title        = {{Human studies of mitochondrial biology demonstrate an overall lack of binary sex differences : A multivariate meta-analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/fj.202101628R}},
  doi          = {{10.1096/fj.202101628R}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}