A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling."
The immune system communicates through various cytokines and chemokines.
Innate immunity: This topic refers to the immune system’s immediate response to pathogens, which includes physical barriers such as skin, as well as cells like natural killer cells and phagocytes.
Adaptive immunity: This refers to the immune system’s long-term response to pathogens, through the use of specialized cells known as B cells and T cells, which can recognize and remember specific pathogens.
Antigen recognition: This key topic involves the way the immune system recognizes and responds to foreign substances in the body.
Antibodies: Antibodies are specialized proteins produced by B cells that are capable of neutralizing or eliminating specific pathogens.
Cytokines: These are signaling molecules involved in immune system communication, which help to coordinate and regulate immune responses.
Antigen-presenting cells: These cells play an important role in presenting antigens to T cells, triggering an immune response.
Immune system development: Understanding how the immune system develops in the body, and changes over time, is an essential part of immunology.
Autoimmunity: This topic involves the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack the body’s own cells, which can lead to autoimmune diseases.
Immunodeficiency: This refers to a weakened or impaired immune system, which can leave the body vulnerable to infection and disease.
Immunotherapy: This cutting-edge field involves using the immune system to treat diseases such as cancer, by stimulating or suppressing immune responses.
Molecular basis of immune system communication: This topic delves into the underlying biochemical processes involved in immune system communication, which can help researchers design new treatments and drugs.
Immune response to vaccines: Understanding how the immune system responds to vaccines is crucial for the development of new vaccines, which can prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Genetics and immunology: Researchers are studying how genetic factors can influence the immune system’s response to pathogens, as well as the development of autoimmune diseases.
Infectious diseases: This topic involves understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, including the ways in which pathogens interact with the immune system.
Transplant immunology: This field is focused on understanding the immune response to transplantation, including the ways in which the immune system can reject transplanted organs.
Immunological memory: This topic involves the study of how the immune system remembers pathogens, allowing it to mount a quick and effective response in the future.
Immune system regulation: Immune system regulation involves understanding how immune responses are controlled and regulated, to prevent overactive or harmful immune responses.
Immunology and cancer: This fast-developing area investigates the links between the immune system and cancer, and aims to develop new immunotherapies to treat tumors.
Immunosenescence: This topic refers to the changes that occur in the immune system as we age, and how these changes can affect our ability to resist infection.
Microbiome and immunity: This topic involves the study of the complex interactions between our gut microbiome and the immune system, which can impact overall health and disease susceptibility.
Cytokines: These are proteins produced by immune cells that communicate with other immune cells. They can help stimulate or suppress immune responses depending on the situation.
Chemokines: These are a type of cytokine that specifically helps immune cells migrate to where they are needed in the body.
Antibodies: These are proteins produced by B cells that specifically recognize and bind to foreign antigens, flagging them for destruction by other immune cells.
Complement: This is a system of proteins that can help amplify and enhance the immune response, either by promoting inflammation or directly destroying foreign invaders.
Toll-like receptors (TLRs): These are proteins on the surface of immune cells that can recognize specific patterns on pathogens, triggering an immune response.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules: These are proteins found on the surface of all cells that help present antigens to other immune cells for recognition and destruction.
Natural killer (NK) cells: These immune cells can directly kill infected or abnormal cells without needing to recognize a specific antigen.
Dendritic cells: These are specialized immune cells that can capture and present antigens to other immune cells to stimulate an immune response.
Regulatory T cells: These are a subset of T cells that help suppress immune responses to prevent excessive inflammation or damage to healthy tissue.
Interferons: These are a group of cytokines that help protect against viral infections by stimulating immune cells to fight off the virus.
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β): This is a cytokine that can have both suppressive and stimulatory effects on immune responses, depending on the situation.
Mast cells: These are a type of immune cell found in tissues that can release histamine and other molecules to promote inflammation and recruit other immune cells to the area.
B lymphocytes: These are immune cells that can produce antibodies and help coordinate the immune response to specific antigens.
T lymphocytes: These are immune cells that can recognize and attack specific antigens, either directly or by signaling other immune cells to attack.
Macrophages: These are immune cells that can engulf and digest foreign invaders, and also help present antigens to other immune cells for recognition.
Natural killer T (NKT) cells: These are a subset of T cells that can recognize lipid antigens, and can rapidly produce cytokines to trigger an immune response.
One-way communication between mother and fetus: During pregnancy, some immune cells and antibodies can pass from the mother to the fetus to provide temporary immunity.
Microbial communication: Some pathogens can communicate with each other to coordinate their attacks on the host, or to form a protective biofilm.
Hormonal communication: Some hormones produced by the body can influence the immune system's response to infection or injury.
Neural communication: The immune system can be influenced by nerve signals, which can either activate or suppress immune responses.
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm and therefore typically exert their functions by interacting with specific cytokine receptors on the target cell surface."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines have been shown to be involved in autocrine, paracrine and endocrine signaling as immunomodulating agents."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines include chemokines, interferons, interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour necrosis factors."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are produced by a broad range of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and various stromal cells."
A quote from the paragraph: "They act through cell surface receptors and are especially important in the immune system; cytokines modulate the balance between humoral and cell-based immune responses, and they regulate the maturation, growth, and responsiveness of particular cell populations."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are important in health and disease, specifically in host immune responses to infection, inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines include chemokines, interferons, interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour necrosis factors, but generally not hormones or growth factors (despite some overlap in the terminology)."
A quote from the paragraph: "A given cytokine may be produced by more than one type of cell."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines modulate the balance between humoral and cell-based immune responses."
A quote from the paragraph: "Some cytokines enhance or inhibit the action of other cytokines in complex ways."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines regulate the maturation, growth, and responsiveness of particular cell populations."
A quote from the paragraph: "The word comes from the ancient Greek language: cyto, from Greek κύτος, kytos, 'cavity, cell' + kines, from Greek κίνησις, kinēsis, 'movement'."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are important in health and disease, specifically in host immune responses to infection, inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction."
A quote from the paragraph: "They are different from hormones, which are also important cell signaling molecules. Hormones circulate in higher concentrations and tend to be made by specific kinds of cells."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are important in health and disease, specifically in host immune responses to infection, inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction."
A quote from the paragraph: "Due to their size, cytokines cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm."
A quote from the paragraph: "Therefore typically exert their functions by interacting with specific cytokine receptors on the target cell surface."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa)."
A quote from the paragraph: "Cytokines are produced by a broad range of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and various stromal cells."