Immune system
Network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases.
- Immune system500 related topics
Complement system
The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the immune system that enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane.
Phagocytosis
Process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle , giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome.
In a multicellular organism's immune system, phagocytosis is a major mechanism used to remove pathogens and cell debris.
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease.
Immunodeficiency
Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent.
Humoral immunity
Aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules - including secreted antibodies, complement proteins, and certain antimicrobial peptides - located in extracellular fluids.
The study of the molecular and cellular components that form the immune system, including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology.
Cancer immunology
Cancer immunology is an interdisciplinary branch of biology that is concerned with understanding the role of the immune system in the progression and development of cancer; the most well known application is cancer immunotherapy, which utilises the immune system as a treatment for cancer.
Immunosuppressive drug
Immunosuppressive drugs, also known as immunosuppressive agents, immunosuppressants and antirejection medications, are drugs that inhibit or prevent activity of the immune system.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans.
Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive.
HIV/AIDS
Spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus.
If the infection progresses, it interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of developing common infections such as tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections, and tumors which are otherwise rare in people who have normal immune function.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system.