@article {315331, title = {Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y}, journal = {PNAS}, year = {2017}, month = {2017/12/11}, abstract = {

TY \ - JOUR
A1 \ - Bogaert, Anthony F.
A1 \ - Skorska, Malvina N.
A1 \ - Wang, Chao
A1 \ - Gabrie, Jos{\'e}
A1 \ - MacNeil, Adam J.
A1 \ - Hoffarth, Mark R.
A1 \ - VanderLaan, Doug P.
A1 \ - Zucker, Kenneth J.
A1 \ - Blanchard, Ray
T1 \ - Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y
Y1 \ - 2017/12/11\ 
JO \ - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\ 
M3 \ - 10.1073/pnas.1705895114\ 
UR \ - http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/12/05/1705895114.abstract\ 
N2 - We conducted a direct test of an immunological explanation of the finding that gay men have a greater number of older brothers than do heterosexual men. This explanation posits that some mothers develop antibodies against a Y-linked protein important in male brain development, and that this effect becomes increasingly likely with each male gestation, altering brain structures underlying sexual orientation in their later-born sons. Immune assays targeting two Y-linked proteins important in brain development{\textemdash}protocadherin 11 Y-linked (PCDH11Y) and neuroligin 4 Y-linked (NLGN4Y; isoforms 1 and 2){\textemdash}were developed. Plasma from mothers of sons, about half of whom had a gay son, along with additional controls (women with no sons, men) was analyzed for male protein-specific antibodies. Results indicated women had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than men. In addition, after statistically controlling for number of pregnancies, mothers of gay sons, particularly those with older brothers, had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than did the control samples of women, including mothers of heterosexual sons. The results suggest an association between a maternal immune response to NLGN4Y and subsequent sexual orientation in male offspring.\ 
ER \ -

}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1705895114}, url = {http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/12/05/1705895114.full}, author = {Bogaert, Anthony F. and Skorska, Malvina N. and Wang, Chao and Gabrie, Jos{\'e} and MacNeil, Adam J. and Hoffarth, Mark R. and VanderLaan, Doug P. and Zucker, Kenneth J. and Blanchard, Ray} }