Immunology is the science that relates to the immune system in all organism and designates all studies focusing on immune system components and functions in normal or pathological states. Immunology is a key domain in medicine and is a major interest for pharma companies.
The immune system is the defense system of an organism against non-self material such as virus, bacteria, tissues… It relies on a variety of components (B cell, T cell, macrophage, dendritic cells, NK cells, complement…) and processes (inflammation, phagocytosis, complement activation…) that are organised and regulated thanks to cell signalling pathways relying for example on immunomodulating agents such as cytokines.
Two main immune answers can be distinguished:
Sometimes the immune system can malfunction and it results in auto-immune diseases, inflammatory diseases and cancer. Auto-immune diseases are conditions where the immune system abnormally reacts against a self body part. Treatments have been developed by pharma companies such as Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or immunosuppressants. However those usually improves symptoms and don’t cure the disease itself.
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