Preliminary studies on the relationship between autoantibodies to heat stress proteins and heat injury of pilots during acute heat stress.

Comparison in the heart rate, oral temperature and lymphocyte DNA damage during heat stress was made in pilots with negative antibodies to heat stress proteins (HSPs) and those with positive antibodies in the man-made climate room with Western blot and comet assay. Our results showed that the increase in oral temperature, heart rate and lymphocyte DNA damage in pilots with the positive antibodies to HSPs were higher than those in pilots with the negative antibodies during heat stress. These results indicated that the presence of autoantibodies in plasma of pilots might reflect heat damage and high sensitivity to heat.