Matti Narkia's List: Immune System

Inside your body there is an amazing protectio n mechanism called the immune system. It is designed to defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that would love to invade your body. To understand the power of the immune system, all that you have to do is look at what happens to anything once it dies. That sounds gross, but it does show you something very important about your immune system.

This first part of a series about different arms of the immune response looks at the innate and adaptive immune responses

The human immune system is a truly amazing constellation of responses to attacks from outside the body. It has many facets, a number of which can change to optimize the response to these unwanted intrusions. The system is remarkably effective, most of the time. This note will give you a brief outline of some of the processes involved.

An antigen is any substance that elicits an immune response, from a virus to a sliver.

The immune system has a series of dual natures, the most important of which is self/non-self recognition. The others are: general/specific, natural/adaptive = innate/acquired, cell-mediated/humoral, active/passive, primary/secondary. Parts of the immune system are antigen-specific (they recognize and act against particular antigens), systemic (not confined to the initial infection site, but work throughout the body), and have memory (recognize and mount an even stronger attack to the same antigen the next time).

Self/non-self recognition is achieved by having every cell display a marker based on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Any cell not displaying this marker is treated as non-self and attacked. The process is so effective that undigested proteins are treated as antigens.

Understanding Cancer Series: The Immune System

The immune system is composed of many interdependent cell types that collectively protect the body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal, viral infections and from the growth of tumor cells. Many of these cell types have specialized functions. The cells of the immune system can engulf bacteria, kill parasites or tumor cells, or kill viral-infected cells. Often, these cells depend on the T helper subset for activation signals in the form of secretions formally known as cytokines, lymphokines, or more specifically interleukins. The purpose of this article is to review the organs, cell types and interactions between cells of the immune system as a commentary on their importance and interdependence on the T helper subset. Such an understanding may help comprehend the root of immune deficiencies, and perceive potential avenues that the immune system can be modulated in the case of specific diseases.

The immune system refers to all of the cells, tissues, organs and processes that protect an organism from invasion by pathogens. Viruses, bacteria, parasites, and some toxins are some of pathogens that the immune system is involved in eliminating from the body.
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Articles relating to the study of the immune system, including medical specialties and techniques, as well as manipulations of the immune system (such as vaccination), can be found in Category:Immunology.
The main article for this category is Immune system.

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. Detection is complicated as pathogens can evolve rapidly, producing adaptations that avoid the immune system and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts.

Immunity (derived from immunitas: Latin for exemption from civic duties and prosecution) means protection from disease and especially infectious disease. Cells and molecules involved in such protection constitute the immune system and the response to introduction of a foreign agent is known as the immune response. Not all immune responses protect from disease; some foreign agents, such as the allergens found in house dust mite, cat dander or rye grass pollen, cause disease as a consequence of inducing an immune response. Likewise some individuals mount immune responses to their own tissues as if they were foreign agents. Thus, the immune response can cause the autoimmune diseases common to man such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or myasthenia gravis. Most individuals do not suffer from autoimmune disease because they have developed tolerance towards their own (self) tissues.

Immunology is the study of the immune system and its reaction to pathogens, as well as its malfunctions (autoimmune diseases, allergies, rejection of organ transplants, immune deficiency). The medical field that deals with these diseases is called clinical immunology, although many diseases are managed by doctors of rheumatology (auto-immune disease), nephrology (transplant rejection) and chest medicine (allergy).

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with, among other things, the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, transplant rejection); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Immunology has applications in several disciplines of science, and as such is further divided.
Immunology is that branch of biomedical science,which deals with the study of normal and malfunctions of immune system in all organisms.

Cancer immunology is the study of interactions between the immune system and cancer cells (also called tumors or malignancies). It is also a growing field of research that aims to discover innovative cancer immunotherapies to treat and retard progression of this disease. The immune response, including the recognition of cancer-specific antigens is of particular interest in this field as knowledge gained drives the development of new vaccines and antibody therapies. For instance in 2007, Ohtani published a paper finding tumour infiltrating lymphocytes to be quite significant in human colorectal cancer.[1] The host was given a better chance at survival if the cancer tissue showed infiltration of inflammatory cells, in particular lymphocytic reactions. The results yielded suggest some extent of anti-tumour immunity is present in colorectal cancers in humans.

Immunological parameters: what do they mean?
Calder PC.
J Nutr. 2007 Mar;137(3 Suppl 2):773S-80S. Review.
PMID: 17311974

Immunology is the study of our protection from foreign macromolecules or invading organisms and our responses to them. These invaders include viruses, bacteria, protozoa or even larger parasites. In addition, we develop immune responses against our own proteins (and other molecules) in autoimmunity and against our own aberrant cells in tumor immunity.

SciTopics pages on Immunology and Microbiology

Immunity is a medical term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide range of pathogens irrespective of antigenic specificity. Other components of the immune system adapt themselves to each new disease encountered and are able to generate pathogen-specific immunity.

When your body encounters a germ, its first line of defense is your immune system. Specialized cells and organs help your body recognize and respond to foreign invaders. Your immune system even has its own circulatory system, called the lymphatic system.\nIf your immune system cannot do its job, the results can be serious. Disorders of the immune system include\nAllergy and asthma - inappropriate immune responses to substances that are usually harmless\nGraft-vs.-host disease - a life-threatening reaction in people receiving organ transplants\nImmune deficiency diseases - disorders in which your resistance to disease becomes dangerously low\nAutoimmune diseases - diseases causing your immune system to attack your own body's cells and tissues by mistake

nflammation (Latin, inflamatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.[1] It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection. Even in cases where inflammation is caused by infection, the two are not synonymous: infection is caused by an exogenous pathogen, while inflammation is the response of the organism to the pathogen.

THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM