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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 .
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.
The next time, the immune response against this microbe can be very efficient; this is the case in many of the childhood infections that a person only contracts once, but then is immune. Artificial active immunization is where the microbe, or parts of it, are injected into the person before they are able to take it in naturally.
Biologic response modifiers act by altering the immune response of the human body. The mechanism of action is either through interfering with the effect of cytokines, inhibiting the costimulation of T cell activation, or inhibiting B cells. [15] Cytokines are proinflammatory and are responsible for regulating the human immune response. [17]
Immunostimulants, also known as immunostimulators, are substances (drugs and nutrients) that stimulate the immune system usually in a non-specific manner by inducing activation or increasing activity of any of its components. One notable example is the granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The goal of this stimulated immune response ...
Type 2 inflammation is a pattern of immune response. Its physiological function is to defend the body against helminths, but a dysregulation of the type 2 inflammatory response has been implicated in the pathophysiology of several diseases. [1] [2]