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Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system.Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies, while immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are classified as suppression immunotherapies.
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 immune response to grafting of transplanted organs and tissues could be minimized without weakening the entire immune system— a side effect of immunosuppressive drugs like cyclosporine. Anergy may also be used to induce activated lymphocytes to become unresponsive with autoimmune diseases like diabetes mellitus , multiple sclerosis and ...
Circulating immune cells such as macrophages, as well as glial cells (microglia and astrocytes) secrete these molecules. Cytokine regulation of hypothalamic function is an active area of research for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders. [18] Cytokines mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses.
Mechanisms for the behavioral immune system include sensory processes through which cues connoting the presence of parasitic infections are perceived (e.g., the smell of a foul odor, the sight of pox or pustules), as well as stimulus–response systems through which these sensory cues trigger a cascade of aversive affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions (e.g., arousal of disgust ...
Containing 1170 drugs with more than 3800 interactions, and approximately 2000 known SNPs. These SNPs are listed and ordered according to their effect on expression and/or activity. [79] PharmGKB: The Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base (PharmGKB) is an interactive tool for researchers investigating how genetic variation affects drug response. [80]