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However, strictly speaking, immunogenicity refers to the ability of an antigen to induce an adaptive immune response. Thus an antigen might bind specifically to a T or B cell receptor, but not induce an adaptive immune response. If the antigen does induce a response, it is an 'immunogenic antigen', which is referred to as an immunogen.
To create an immune response, a foreign molecule must be present that antibodies can bind to (i.e. the antigen) and cellular damage must exist. Very often, drugs will not be immunogenic because they are too small to induce immune response. However, a drug can cause an immune response if the drug binds a larger molecule.
Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are substances that modify immune responses. They can be endogenous (produced naturally within the body) or exogenous (as pharmaceutical drugs ), and they can either enhance an immune response or suppress it .
The receptor occupancy model, which describes agonist and competitive antagonists, was built on the work of Langley, Hill, and Clark.The occupancy model was the first model put forward by Clark to explain the activity of drugs at receptors and quantified the relationship between drug concentration and observed effect.
An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellular bacteria, protozoa, helminths, and fungi which could cause serious problems to the health of the host organism if not cleared from the body.
Adverse reactions, such as allergic reactions to drugs, even when unexpected by pharmacotherapists, are also classified as iatrogenic. The evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is iatrogenic as well. [9] Bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics have evolved in response to the over prescription of antibiotic drugs. [10]
[1] [2] The term is often used in contrast to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (which refers to agents that treat the inflammation, but not the underlying cause) and steroids (which blunt the immune response but are insufficient to slow down the progression of the disease).
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system.Immunotherapy is designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies, while immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are classified as suppression immunotherapies.