Body Temperature Fluctuations May Drive Women's Autoimmune Risk — SkimNews
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- Elizabeth Maloney at the Pasteur Institute presented findings linking women's body temperature fluctuations to a higher risk of autoimmune conditions, calling it 'one piece of the puzzle' in sex-based immunity differences.
- The study of over 900 adults found that among women's blood samples, every 1°C increase in body temperature was linked to a 36% decrease in T-cells' ability to produce the inflammatory protein interferon-gamma.
- Darragh Duffy, also at the Pasteur Institute, noted the counterintuitive finding that high temperature can dial down the immune response, suggesting a mechanism to prevent it from getting out of hand.
- Sabra Klein at Johns Hopkins University said the findings add another dimension to sex differences in immune function and called for future studies to examine temperature effects independently of hormones.
- The research team is now working to implement body-temperature measurements in a vaccine trial starting next year to further investigate the link.
Why it matters: This research identifies a novel, physiological factor—body temperature fluctuation—that could explain a major health disparity, where women are up to four times more likely than men to develop conditions like lupus. For researchers and drug developers, it points to a new target for understanding and potentially mitigating autoimmune risk.
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