IMMUNOSERO - DOF

• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) : A life-threatening disease caused by a virus and characterized by a breakdown of the body's immune defenses.
• Agamma globulinemia : An almost total lack of immunoglobulins, or antibodies.
• Allergen : Any substance that causes an allergy.
• Allergy : An inappropriate and harmful response of the immune system to normally harmless substances.
• Anaphylactic shock : A life-threatening allergic reaction characterized by a swelling of body tissues including the throat, difficulty in breathing, and a sudden fall in blood pressure.
• Antibody : A soluble protein molecule produced and secreted by B cells in response to an antigen, which can bind to that specific antigen.
• Antigen : Any substance that, when introduced into the body, is recognized by the immune system.
• Antigen presenting cells : B cells, cells of the monocyte lineage (including macrophages and dendritic cells), and various other body cells that "present" antigen in a form that T cells can recognize.
• Antinuclear antibody (ANA) : An autoantibody directed against a substance in the cell's nucleus.
• Antiserum : Serum that contains antibodies.
• Antitoxins : antibodies that interlock with and inactivate toxins produced by certain bacteria.
• Appendix : Lymphoid organ in the intestine.
• Attenuated : Weakened, no longer infectious.
• Autoantibody : an antibody that reacts against a person's own tissue.
• Autoimmune disease : A disease that results when the immune system mistakenly attacks . The body's own tissues.
• B cells

  • Small white blood cells are crucial to the immune defenses. Also known as B lymphocytes, they are derived from bone marrow and develop into plasma cells that are the source of antibodies.
• Bone marrow - soft tissue located in the cavities of the bones. The bone marrow is the source of all blood cells.
• Complement - A complex series of blood proteins whose action "complements" the work of antibodies. This destroys bacteria, produces inflammation, and regulates immune reactions.
• Complement cascade - A precise sequence of events usually triggered by an antigen antibody complex, in which each component of the complement system is activated.
• Constant region - that part of an antibody's structure that is characteristic of each antibody class.
• Co-Stimulation : The delivery of a second signal from an antigen-presenting cell to a T cell. The second signal rescues the activated T cell from anergy, allowing it to produce the lymphokines necessary for the growth of additional T cells.
• Cytokines Powerful chemical substances secreted by cells. This include lymphokines produced by lymphocytes and monokines produced by monocytes and macrophages.
• Cytotoxic T cells - A subset of T lymphocytes that can kill body cells infected by viruses or transformed by cancer.
• Dendritic cells - White blood cells found in the spleen and other lymphoid organs. It is typically threadlike tentacles to enmesh antigen, which they present to T cells.
• Epitope - A unique shape or marker carried on an antigen's surface, which triggers a corresponding antibody response.
• Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) : A life-threatening reaction in which transplanted immunocompetent cells attack the tissues of the recipient.
• Helper T cells - A subset of T cells that typically carry the T4 marker and are essential for turning on antibody production, activating cytotoxic T cells, and initiating many other immune responses.
• Hematopoiesis - The formation and development of blood cells, usually takes place in the bone marrow.
• Histocompatibility testing - A method of matching the self antigens (HLA) on the tissues of a transplant donor with those of the recipient. The closer the match, the better the chance that the transplant will take.
• Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) - Protein in markers of self used in histocompatibility testing. Some HLA types also correlate with certain autoimmune diseases.
• Hybridoma - A hybrid cell created by fusing a B lymphocyte with a long-lived neoplastic plasma cell, or a T lymphocyte with a lymphoma cell. A B-cell hybridoma secretes a single specific antibody.
• Hypogammaglobuli nemia - abnormally low levels of immunoglobulins
• Idiotypes - the unique and characteristic parts of an antibody's variable region, which can themselves serve as antigens.
• Immune complex - A cluster of interlocking antigens and antibodies.
• Immune response - The reactions of the immune system to foreign substances.
• Immunoassay - A test using antibodies to identify and quantify substances. Often, the antibody is linked to a marker such as a fluorescent molecule, a radioactive molecule, or an enzyme.
• Immunocompetent - Capable of developing an immune response.
• Immunoglobulins - A family of large protein molecules, also known as antibodies.
• Immunosuppression - Reduction of the immune responses, for instance by giving drugs to prevent transplant rejection.
• Immunotoxin - A monoclonal antibody linked to a natural toxin, a toxic drug, or a radioactive substance.