Activation of the immune system

Sinusitis symptoms typically last 7 to 1 0 days after a viral infection and are caused by activation of the immune system and parasympathetic nervous system. 

There is growing evidence that hazardous chemicals can affect the central nervous, reproductive, and gastrointestinal system and cause hematological, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. They can also influence the activity of the immune system by either augmenting or suppressing its function. 

Cytokines are important mediators of the immune system and many therapies targeting them have been designed to either augment the activities of the immune system to destroy... 

Immune response The activity of the immune system against foreign substances (antigens). 

The biochemical and physiological effects of cortisol are snmmarised in Figure 12.10. Higher than normal concentrations of cortisol improve mood and reduce the activity of the immune system. Hence, they are routinely used to reduce chronic inflammation. There are, however, side-effects of these high levels increased levels of blood glucose, obesity and retention of water giving rise to moon face . 

So far there are no satisfactory treatments for multiple organ failure, although steroids are sometimes used to inhibit the activity of the immune system. Provision of antibodies to one or more of the proinflammatory cytokines is one novel approach. 

The events described above demonstrate the complexity and fine balance between various processes resulting in either resolution or enhancement of inflammation. Failure to control one or more of these, and possibly other presently unknown, regulatory mechanisms may lead to chronic activation of the immune system resulting in chronic inflammatory diseases. 

In chronic inflammatory disorders there is a general over-activation of the immune system, the cause of which is often unknown. In all of these diseases, an increased number of infiltrated immune cells can be found in the inflamed tissues. Furthermore, increased expression of adhesion molecules on the endothelium can often be observed, although the adhesion molecules are expressed differentially in the various diseases. 

Preventative vaccines are increasingly used during pregnancy, with the intention of protecting the newborn baby from infectious disease, such as influenza, via conferred immunity from the mother (1). To date, no causal relationships have been demonstrated for adverse effects on pregnancy with any approved vaccine. However, potential mechanisms have been suggested by which an induced immune response could interfere with prenatal development. A nonspecific disturbance of the resting balance between the innate and humoral activities of the immune system, for instance, could result in abortion (2). Otherwise, the induced antibodies may have the potential to disturb normal development due to a specific... 

Immunoglobulin. Immunoprotein glycoprotein of animal origin with known antibody activity, or protein related by chemical structure, which may or may not have antibody activity. Divided into five classes IgM, IgG, IgA, IgD, and IgE on the basis of structure and biological activity. Immunostimulant. Stimulating various functions or activities of the immune system. Immunosuppressant. An agent capable of suppressing immune responses. 

Studying nonspecific immnnity we noted the suppression of corresponding parameters of the immnne system. The phagocytic activity of neutrophils (FAN) was considerably decreased which could lead to the development of infection. After hemosorption the activation of the immune system was noted and a significant increase in CD3, CD4 and CD19 lymphocyte numbers were seen. The level of... 

Inflammatory influences. Inflammation (p. 1211), which usually accompanies infection and can also arise from allergic responses, is affected by many substances.2293-6 These include chemotactic factors that attract neutrophils and monocytes2220 2294 and the adhesion molecules that assist in the movement of lymphocytes. 229e/f Some epithelial tissues, such as the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract, are maintained in a continuous very low level of inflammation. This reflects the balance between activation of the immune system and inhibition of the system by signals from microorganisms both pathogenic and commensal 229 h... 

Many things can go wrong with a system as complex as the human immune system. In immunodeficiency disease some component is missing or has been inactivated. In autoimmune diseases the immune system attacks some component of the body. Of the known problems none is more common than allergy,440 442 which may be described as the inappropriate activation of the immune system by environmental antigens (allergens). 

Given the common and sometimes fatal weakness of the adaptive immune response in its interaction with infectious agents, various means to enhance the activity of the immune system have been developed. One, and the oldest, of these approaches is vaccination, which started in 1796 with Jenner s cowpox vaccine (8) and is of course ongoing today. 

Classical Activation of the Immune System by Foreign Proteins 478... 

There are two mechanisms by which therapeutic proteins induce antibodies the classical activation of the immune system by foreign proteins and the breaking of B cell tolerance by human proteins. The two mechanisms differ in time of onset and response level as we have described extensively previously [2]- Also the immunological mechanisms behind the two types of immune activation differ fundamentally and therefore also the characteristics of the product that are involved in induction of antibodies. 

The classical activation of the immune system is driven by the presence of non-self-epitopes. If the therapeutic protein is of nonhuman origin like micro-bially derived streptokinase and asparaginase or bovine adenosine deamidase,... 

Regulatory T-cells (sometimes known as suppressor T-cells) are a specialised subpopulation of T-cells that act to suppress activation of the immune system and thereby maintain immune-system homeostasis and tolerance to self-antigens. 

Singh, A.K., Jiang, Y. (2003). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced activation of the immune system in control rats and rats chronically exposed to a low level of the organo-thiophosphate insecticide, acephate. Toxicol. Ind. Health 19 93-108. 

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