Thymic selection of the T cell receptor repertoire is biased toward autoimmunity in females

Women represent about 80% of patients with autoimmune diseases. This may partly result from sex-based differences in T cell receptor (TCR) selection during thymocyte development, potentially influenced by hormones and the lower expression of the Autoimmune Regulator (AIRE) transcription factor in females. To investigate this, we analyzed sex-specific differences in TCR generation and selection. We…