New research suggests that controlling body temperature could be an effective strategy for curbing antibiotic resistance.
Experts from the universities of Groningen, Montpellier, and Oldenburg have investigated how a fever can impact the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Their findings illustrate that a temperature increase from just 37 to 41°C changed the mutation frequency in E. coli bacteria significantly, which drives the development of resistance.
The researchers believe that if these effects can be replicated in humans, a new method for fighting antibiotic resistance could be developed.
This could be a major breakthrough, as antimicrobial resistance is a global health issue, responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributing to 4.95 million deaths.
Combatting antibiotic resistance
There are two ways to combat antibiotic resistance – developing new drugs or preventing the development of resistance.
Timo van Eldijk, co-first author of the research, explained: “We know that temperature affects the mutation rate in bacteria.
“What we wanted to find out was how the increase in temperature associated with fever influences the mutation rate towards antibiotic resistance.”
To test this hypothesis, the researchers cultured E. coli bacteria at 37 or 40°C and exposed them to three antibiotics with different modes of action: iprofloxacin, rifampicin, and ampicillin.
The results revealed that higher temperatures increased the mutation rate towards resistance for ciprofloxacin and rifampicin, while ampicillin caused a decrease in the mutation rate at fever temperatures.
Van Eldijk added: “To be certain of this result, we actually replicated the study with ampicillin in two different labs, at the University of Groningen and the University of Montpellier, and got the same result.”
Developing fever-suppressing medications
The researchers theorised that ampicillin’s efficacy might depend on temperature, and their experiment confirmed this, explaining why resistance to ampicillin is less likely at 40°C.
“Our study demonstrates that even a slight temperature change can significantly alter the mutation rate towards antimicrobial resistance,” said Van Eldijk. “Interestingly, other factors like growth rate remain unaffected.”
If these findings are replicated in humans, it could lead to new strategies for combating antimicrobial resistance.
This might involve using fever-suppressing drugs to lower temperatures or administering antimicrobial drugs that are more effective at higher temperatures to patients with a fever.
