Immunological mechanisms

Second, the reactive species of a xenobiotic may bind to a protein, altering its antigenicity. The xenobiotic is said to act as a hapten, ie, a small molecule that by itself does not stimulate antibody synthesis but will combine with antibody once formed. The resulting antibodies can then damage the cell by several immunologic mechanisms that grossly perturb normal cellular biochemical processes. 

Of necessity, anyone working in the food industry has to be aware of food allergies. They involve one of two different immunologic mechanisms. The most common one involves globulins E (IgE). The less common type is the cell-mediated food allergy. 

Antibodies have and likely will find additional use in transplantation-related medicine. In general, cell-mediated immunological mechanisms are responsible for mediating rejection of transplanted organs. In many instances, transplant patients must be maintained on immunosuppressive drugs (e.g. some steroids and, often, the fungal metabolite cyclosporine). However, complications may arise if a rejection episode is encountered that proves unresponsive to standard immunosuppressive therapy. Orthoclone OKT-3 was the first monoclonal antibody-based product to find application in this regard. 

Atopic dermatitis is an inflammatory condition with genetic, environmental, and immunologic mechanisms. Many immune cells have demonstrated abnormalities, including Langerhans cells, monocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, mast cells, and keratinocytes. 

A major scientific obstacle to the development of a safe and effective vaccine is the difficulty in establishing the precise correlates of protective immunity against HIV infection. A number of factors such as lack of an adequate animal model, lack of incentives, and genetic variability coupled with the relatively poor understanding of the immunologic mechanisms that confer protection have stymied the development of an effective HIV vaccine as of this time. 

Larche M, Akdis CA, Valenta R Immunological mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy. Nat Rev Immunol 2006 6 761-771. 

Ebner C Immunological mechanisms operative in allergen-specific immunotherapy. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1999 119 1-5. 

Non-allergic hypersensitivity reaction corresponds with the traditional term food intolerance . It affects about 20% of patients, inducing symptoms similar to those observed during an allergy bout, however, it is triggered by non-immunological mechanisms. 

The basal immunological mechanisms are complex but can now be analyzed with refined and more powerful laboratory methods, such as the microarray technique. With the help of this technique, additional information besides that concerning IgE and cytokine levels about the association between adaptive and innate immune response as well as other cellular responses can be gathered (6-8). 

Kimber I. Skin sensitisation immunological mechanisms and novel approaches to predictive testing. In Balls M, Van Zeller A-M, Haider M, eds. Proceedings of the Third World Congress on Alternatives and... 

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