title: Fever as an important resource for infectious diseases research.
abstract: Fever or pyrexia is a process where normal body temperature is raised over homeostasis conditions. Although many effects of fever over the immune system have been known for a long time, it has not been until recent studies when these effects have been evaluated in several infection processes. Results have been promising, as they have reported new ways of regulation, especially in RNA molecules. In light of these new studies, it seems important to start to evaluate the effects of pyrexia in current research efforts in host-pathogen interactions. Viruses and bacteria are responsible for different types of infectious diseases, and while it is of paramount importance to understand the mechanisms of infection, potential effects of fever on this process may have been overlooked. This is especially relevant because during the course of many infectious diseases the organism develops fever. Due to the lack of specific treatments for many of those afflictions, experimental evaluation in fever-like conditions can potentially bring new insights into the infection process and can ultimately help to develop treatments. The aim of this review is to present evidence that the temperature increase during fever affects the way the infection takes place, for both the pathogen and the host.
authors.affiliation: Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia; Research Department, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: González Plaza
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Nataša
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hulak
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Center for Life Sciences, PI "National Laboratory Astana", AOE "Nazarbayev University", Astana, Kazakhstan.
authors.forename: Zhaxybay
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhumadilov
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Center for Life Sciences, PI "National Laboratory Astana", AOE "Nazarbayev University", Astana, Kazakhstan.
authors.forename: Ainur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akilzhanova
keywords: Fever; RNA structure; computational tools; immune system; infectious diseases