Thermal cycling-hyperthermia down-regulates liposaccharide-induced inflammatory response in human whole-blood and helps clear herpes simplex virus type 1 by U-937 macrophages

When infection occurs, the temperature in the infected region or in the whole body will be elevated in order to weaken the infectious pathogens such as virus, or to promote the activity of immune systems. As a clinical alternative treatment, hyperthermia (HT) has been widely used in various diseases, which is also capable of regulating the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and antiviral activity of immune systems. However, studies have also indicated that overheating impairs the health tissues as well as the immune cells. In this study, we provide a modified HT method–thermal cycling-hyperthermia (TC-HT) and investigate its effects on immunomodulation and cellular viabilities, showing that TC-HT could reduce the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) ex vivo, and elevate the efficacy of U-937 macrophages for clearing herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro. Furthermore, the efficacy of U-937 macrophage for clearing HSV-1 could be further boosted up via optimizing the parameter of TC-HT. Collectively, we prove that TC-HT is a more promising and safer thermal treatment with stronger therapeutic effects in immunomodulation than HT, shedding light on the development of the therapy in immunological diseases.