Sexual dimorphism is exhibited remarkably in the female predominance of autoimmune diseases (e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus, female-to-male ratio 9 : 1). To understand the female bias in autoimmunity, we focused on vestigial-like family member 3 (VGLL3), a molecule with increased expression in females and known to promote autoimmunity. We report that VGLL3 mediates the cellular stress response by upregulating p53 and IL-17C. Energy stress allows VGLL3 to be induced by IFNα, which ultimately leads to p53-dependent, lupus-associated, inflammatory cell death. Our results suggest that female-biased expression of VGLL3 helps cells adapt to metabolic stress, which, intriguingly, is known as a significant challenge during the evolution of placental mammals due to the need to feed a developing embryo. The findings also uncover the importance of maintaining metabolic homeostasis in the prevention of autoimmunity.
Keywords: autoimmunity; immunometabolism; sexual dimorphism.
© 2020 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.