Immunology

Immunology is the study of the body's immune system.

What is Immunology?

Immunology is the branch of biomedical science that deals with the response of an organism to antigenic challenge and its recognition of what is self and what is not. It deals with the defence mechanisms including all physical, chemical and biological properties of the organism that help it to combat its susceptibility to foreign organisms, material, etc.

What are the Types of Neuroinflammation?

Evolutionary Immunology

The Different Types of Immunostaining

What does it mean to be Immunocompromised?

The Immunological Functions of Red Blood Cells

Cells of the Innate Immune System

What are PARP inhibitors?

Immunology: A Very British History

Cells of the Adaptive Immune System

Clinical Immunology

Mannan-binding Lectin Serine Protease (MASP) Family

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Developmental Immunology

What is Neuroimmunology?

Classical Immunology

Improving Transplantation Outcomes in Positive Crossmatch Kidney Transplantation

B Cell Development

Latest Immunology News and Research

Study highlights critical mental health risk for eczema patients

A new international study presented today at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress 2025 reveals that adults with atopic eczema (AE) are significantly more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, with researchers uncovering the key factors driving this elevated risk.

17 Sep 2025

New findings show lymph nodes educate T cells to combat disease

A team of researchers, led by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), explored the cellular and molecular interactions revealing how lymph nodes play a crucial role in the fight against chronic infection and cancer.

17 Sep 2025

Lymphatic vessels found to undergo dramatic changes during kidney transplant rejection

Scientists have uncovered how lymphatic vessels – the kidney's 'plumbing system' – undergo dramatic changes during chronic transplant rejection, becoming structurally disorganised and spreading to unusual parts of the kidney.

16 Sep 2025

Triple negative breast cancer exploits lymph node niches to block immune defense

In almost all solid tumors - i.e. cancers with a solid tissue structure - the detection of tumor cells in the lymph nodes is considered a decisive marker for the progression of the disease.

16 Sep 2025

Scientists discover IC–encoder neurons that shape visual perception

An illusion is when we see and perceive an object that doesn't match the sensory input that reaches our eyes. In the case of the image below, the sensory input is four Pac Man–like black figures.

15 Sep 2025

UCLA team develops engineered antibodies to fight cytomegalovirus infection

A UCLA research team has found a new way to prompt the immune system to kill cells infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a life-threatening infection that is particularly deadly in immunocompromised people.

13 Sep 2025

Blocking immune brake protein boosts defense against Aspergillus fumigatus

People are exposed to millions of fungal spores every day, even potentially harmful ones like those from Aspergillus fumigatus.

11 Sep 2025

UC researcher wins $300,000 grant to investigate the underlying causes of eosinophilic esophagitis

Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) often describe the condition as painful, disruptive and frightening.

11 Sep 2025

Antibody cocktail could change the way the world fights influenza

An unusual therapy developed at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) could change the way the world fights influenza, one of the deadliest infectious diseases.

11 Sep 2025

Targeting telomere damage offers new path to boost cancer immunotherapy

Tumors are stressful places for cancer-fighting immune cells. Low oxygen, high acid levels, and other stressors put strain on mitochondria, the cell's energy factories, leading to T cell exhaustion and poor cancer outcomes.

10 Sep 2025

Lung tumors rewire immune cells in the bone marrow before they reach cancer sites

Lung tumors don't just evade the immune system. They reshape it at its source. Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators report in the September 10 online issue of Nature that tumors rewire immune cells in the bone marrow before they even reach the cancer, suggesting a new target to enhance the durability of current immunotherapy

10 Sep 2025

Scientists uncover human proteins hijacked by SARS-CoV-2 for replication

Despite vaccines and treatments, SARS-CoV-2-the virus that causes COVID-19-continues to pose a global health threat, driven by new variants and its ability to hijack human cells in ways that still aren't fully understood.

5 Sep 2025

Targeting complement with an inhibitor may prevent preterm birth and protect the baby’s brain

A research team at the Medical University of South Carolina reports in Cells that the complement system, part of the body's natural immune defenses, is a key driver of inflammatory responses that contribute to fetal brain inflammation and preterm birth, the latter of which is the leading cause of complications and death in newborns.

4 Sep 2025

New insights into pathogenic T cells offer hope for Crohn's disease treatment

The research group led by Drs. Mitsuru Arase, Mari Murakami, and Prof. Kiyoshi Takeda (Graduate School of Medicine/ Immunology Frontier Research Center at The University of Osaka) revealed that transcription factors RUNX2 and BHLHE40 play crucial roles in inducing T cells involved in Crohn's disease.

4 Sep 2025

Single antibody causes a rare but dangerous reaction to widely-used blood thinner

Researchers at McMaster University have discovered that a rare but dangerous reaction to a widely used blood thinner is caused by a single antibody – overturning decades of medical misunderstanding and opening the door to more precise ways of diagnosing and treating this medical complication.

3 Sep 2025

Penn State researchers reveal new function of antibody-producing cells

The body has an intricate system to defend against infections where each type of immune cell plays a distinct role. Now, a study led by researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine has uncovered a new function of the immune cells that are known for making antibodies.

3 Sep 2025

Electrical stimulation reprograms macrophages to reduce inflammation

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered that electrically stimulating "macrophages" – one of the immune systems key players – can "reprogramme" them in such a way to reduce inflammation and encourage faster, more effective healing in disease and injury.

2 Sep 2025

Plant-derived carotenoid found to boost immune response against cancer

In a new study, researchers from the University of Chicago discovered that zeaxanthin, a plant-derived carotenoid best known for protecting vision, may also act as an immune-boosting compound by strengthening the cancer-fighting activity of immune cells.

2 Sep 2025

Scientists discover molecular brake that limits T cell attack on tumors

In a discovery that could expand the array of current cancer immunotherapy treatments, scientists at Harvard Medical School have identified a new molecular brake that hinders the ability of T cells to attack tumors.

1 Sep 2025

Alzheimer’s research uncovers a new therapeutic pathway for the memory-robbing malady

The gut contains the largest collection of immune cells in the body. New research at the Buck Institute shows that some of those immune cells travel along the brain/gut axis in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) providing a potential new therapeutic pathway for the memory-robbing malady.

29 Aug 2025