Immunology

Immunology is the study of the body's immune system.

What is Immunology?

Immunology is the branch of biomedical science that deals with the response of an organism to antigenic challenge and its recognition of what is self and what is not. It deals with the defence mechanisms including all physical, chemical and biological properties of the organism that help it to combat its susceptibility to foreign organisms, material, etc.

What does it mean to be Immunocompromised?

Classical Immunology

The Immunological Functions of Red Blood Cells

Clinical Immunology

Developmental Immunology

Evolutionary Immunology

B Cell Development

Cells of the Adaptive Immune System

Cells of the Innate Immune System

What is Neuroimmunology?

Mannan-binding Lectin Serine Protease (MASP) Family

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Latest Immunology News and Research

ICRAFT platform identifies new targets for cancer immunotherapy

Professor Zeng Zexian's team from the Center for Quantitative Biology at the Peking University Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, in collaboration with the Peking University-Tsinghua University Joint Center for Life Sciences, has developed ICRAFT, an innovative computational platform for identifying cancer immunotherapy targets.

1 Apr 2025

New PCR test offers hope for better treatment of bacterial vaginosis

Roughly one out of three women ages 14-49 in the United States develop a vaginal bacterial imbalance known as bacterial vaginosis (BV) during their lifetime.

28 Mar 2025

New research reveals factors influencing steroid hormone levels in healthy adults

Steroid hormone levels in healthy adults are influenced by oral contraceptives and smoking, as well as other lifestyle choices and factors such as biological sex and age, according to new research that has just been published in leading international journal Science Advances.

28 Mar 2025

New insights into how the immune system handles latent parasite infections

Most humans have long-lived infections in various tissues-including in the nervous system-that typically do not result in disease.

28 Mar 2025

Material from nasal lavage provides a basis for assessing COPD

Early diagnosis of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, increases the quality of life of the patient and the efficacy of available treatments.

28 Mar 2025

Study points to single respiratory virus as cause of Kawasaki disease

Research from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified.

27 Mar 2025

Fusion proteins enable the creation of monoclonal antibodies

The Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 100 monoclonal antibodies to treat a range of diseases. Other antibodies are used by physicians to diagnose conditions or by scientists to advance research projects.

26 Mar 2025

Report shows alarming measles resurgence in Europe and US

A recent report shows cases of measles across the World Health Organization's European Region, which includes the UK, are the highest they've been for more than 25 years. At the same time, large outbreaks of measles in the US have led to the first measles deaths there since 2015.

26 Mar 2025

Study reveals distinct infection strategies of Zika and dengue viruses

Zika virus and dengue virus are very close relatives. Both are mosquito-borne flaviviruses, and both specialize in infecting a host's dendritic cells.

25 Mar 2025

C. diff uses toxic compound to gain competitive advantage in the gut

The pathogen C. diff - the most common cause of health care-associated infectious diarrhea - can use a compound that kills the human gut's resident microbes to survive and grow, giving it a competitive advantage in the infected gut.

25 Mar 2025

High-salt diet induces depression-like symptoms in mice

A new study published in The Journal of Immunology found that a high-salt diet (HSD) induces depression-like symptoms in mice by driving the production of a protein called IL-17A.

25 Mar 2025

Research identifies pressure-sensing protein behind gut motility

After every meal, the intestines perform an action called peristalsis - moving food through their hollow interiors with coordinated contractions and relaxations of the smooth muscle.

25 Mar 2025

Researchers develop tool to enhance NK cells against cancer

A team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Pompeu Fabra University has developed a new tool that allows modifying these NK cells to make them immune to the tumor’s defense mechanism.

24 Mar 2025

Study reveals key role of Treg cells in preventing autoimmune responses

During infections, the immune system needs to distinguish foreign antigens that are expressed by invading bacteria and viruses from self-antigens that are expressed by cells of the body.

22 Mar 2025

Mount Sinai-led research uncovers mechanisms behind Crohn's disease inflammation

A research team led by Mount Sinai has uncovered mechanisms of abnormal immune cell function that may lead to Crohn's disease, according to findings published in Science Immunology on March 21.

22 Mar 2025

Targeting brain’s waste removal system may help combat cognitive decline

As aging bodies decline, the brain loses the ability to cleanse itself of waste, a scenario that scientists think could be contributing to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, among others.

21 Mar 2025

Drug-resistant bacteria evolve to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool

A drug-resistant type of bacteria that has adapted to health care settings evolved in the past several years to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool, eliminating its cousins and replacing them as the dominate strain.

21 Mar 2025

High-fat diet impairs neutrophil function in obesity

A new study in The Journal of Immunology reveals how a high-fat diet may impair the immune system's ability to respond to infection by impacting the function of neutrophils, one of the first immune cells to respond to bacteria or viruses.

20 Mar 2025

Targeted inhibition of a 'signal jammer' protein may improve tumor response to immunotherapy

Targeted inhibition of a "signal jammer" protein may improve how tumors respond to immunotherapy. Published today in Nature, a new study demonstrates how some cancer cells use the protein voltage-dependent anion channel 2 (VDAC2) like a signal jammer to prevent the body's anticancer systems from communicating with the immune system.

19 Mar 2025

Study reveals how B cells safeguard high-affinity antibodies

A vaccine's ability to generate long-lasting, high-affinity antibodies hinges on a delicate balance. Upon exposure to a vaccine or pathogen, B cells scramble to refine their defenses, rapidly mutating in hopes of generating the most effective antibodies.

19 Mar 2025