The protein targeted by the antibodies, called NLGN4Y, is thought to play a role in how brain cells connect to each other, says Bogaert.
They thought this would be a good candidate, because it plays an important role in how neurons communicate with each other, and because it is produced on the surface of brain cells, making it relatively easy for antibodies to find and detect it. The team collected blood from 142 women, and screened it for antibodies to a particular brain protein that is only made in males. Bogaert’s team wondered if maternal antibodies might play a role in shaping sexual orientation. But pregnant women sometimes also produce antibodies against fetal molecules – for example, if their fetus has a different blood group. Our immune systems make antibodies to recognise foreign molecules, which have the potential to be from dangerous bacteria. Now it seems that increasing levels of antibodies in a mother’s immune system could play a role.Īnthony Bogaert at Brock University, Canada, and his team think that some women who are pregnant with boys develop antibodies that target a protein made by the Y chromosome. The more older brothers a boy has, the more likely he is to be gay when he grows up – an effect called the “ fraternal birth order effect”.
Having lots of boys can affect a woman’s immune response
