问答题 Warm-blooded animals have elaborate physiological controls to maintain constant body temperature (in humans, 37℃). Why then during sickness should temperature rise, apparently increasing stress on the infected organism? It has long been known that the level of serum iron in animals falls during infection. Garibaldi first suggested a relationship between fever and iron. He found that microbial synthesis of siderophores—substances that bind iron—in bacteria of the genus Salmonella declined at environmental temperatures above 37℃ and stopped at 40.3℃. Thus, fever would make it more difficult for an infecting bacterium to acquire iron and thus to multiply. Cold-blooded animals were used to test this hypothesis because their body temperature can be controlled in the laboratory. Kluger reported that of iguanas infected with the potentially lethal bacterium A.hydrophilia, more survived at temperatures of 42℃ than at 37℃, even though healthy animals prefer the lower temperature. When animals at 42℃ were injected with an iron solution, however, mortality rates increased significantly. Research to determine whether similar phenomena occur in warm-blooded animals is sorely needed.
【正确答案】温血动物有复杂的生理调控机制以维持恒定的体温(在人体内部为37℃)。那么为什么温度会在患病期升高,从而明显加强被感染机体的压力呢?长期以来人们就知道,动物血清铁的水平在感染期是下降的。加瑞鲍迪首先提出了发热与铁的关系。他发现,在沙门氏菌属中,微生物的含铁细胞(一种结合铁的物质)的合成,当环境温度高于37℃时下降,在40.3℃时停止。因此,发热能使一株入侵的细菌更难获得铁来进行繁殖。冷血动物被用来检验这种假说,因为在实验室里它们的体温能被控制。克鲁格报道,在感染上致命的细菌hydrophilia的鬣蜥中,在42℃较在37℃温度中有更多的存活了下来,虽然健康个体更喜欢低一些的温度。当处于42℃的动物被注射了铁溶剂后,死亡率却明显增加。确定是否在温血动物身上有相似现象发生的研究则是我们迫切需要的。
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