Immunology is a branch of the medical and biological sciences to study the immune system, the body’s defense again infection[1], [2], [3]. It involves to explore the structure and components of immune system, illustrate the defense system, investigate the immune disorders (such as immunodeficiency, autoimmune diseases, and immune cancers), and defenses applications (such as vaccination). In recent years, some scientists begun to explore the potential of the adaptive immune responses in treating human disease[1]. Relying on active and passive adaptive immunity, scientists have developed strategies in disease prevention (such as vaccines) and treatment (such as immunotherapy).
What is immune system?
The immune system includes a series of activities of cells, chemicals and processes that recognize, attack, and destroy invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, cancer cells, and toxin, protecting the skin, airway, intestinal tract, etc, from their invasion[2], [3]. It is composed of two subsystems, innate immunity and adaptive immunity (or acquired immunity). Immune cells, mainly leukocytes (also known as white blood cells), are housed in the lymphoid system and reticuloendothelial system where they intercommunicate through cytokines[4].
References
[1] A. K. Abbas and C. A. Janeway, “Immunology,†Cell, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 129–138, Jan. 2000, doi: 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81689-X.
[2] J. S. Marshall, R. Warrington, W. Watson, and H. L. Kim, “An introduction to immunology and immunopathology,†Allergy Asthma Clin. Immunol., vol. 14, no. S2, p. 49, Sept. 2018, doi: 10.1186/s13223-018-0278-1.
[3] “Introduction to the Immune Response,†in Primer to the Immune Response, Elsevier, 2014, pp. 3–20. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-385245-8.00001-7.
[4] A. S. Goldman and B. S. Prabhakar, “Immunology Overview,†in Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., S. Baron, Ed., Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 1996. Accessed: Aug. 25, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7795/
[5] G. Bellingan, “G Bellingan Leukocytes: friend or foeâ€.
