Researchers identify benefits of a fever

Li Qian

BEIJING: Local scientists are advising not to take medication to reduce a fever as they say fevers help the immune system.

When the body’s temperature is 38.5 degrees Celsius or above, it’s better to leave it there for a while, they say. The high temperature will stimulate immune cells to travel faster to the site of an infection, according to a report published in the journal Immunity.

Chen Jianfeng and his research team from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that a fever of 38.5 degrees or above increases levels of a heat-shock protein, known as Hsp90, in T cells, a type of white blood cell.

The protein binds to receptors, known as α4 integrins that transport white blood cells to the site of infection through blood vessels. After the two bind, the process of cell trafficking will be greatly boosted, the research showed.

Chen’s team found that the protein is effectively stimulated within six hours after a person gets a fever. They are now working to find out how to fight infection or slow inflammation during autoimmune reactions by modifying Hsp90 in white blood cells.

Courtesy: (shine.cn)