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Introduction to the Immune System

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Immunoproteomics

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2024))

Abstract

The immune system in a broad sense is a mechanism that allows a living organism to discriminate between “self” and “nonself.” Examples of immune systems occur in multicellular organisms as simple and ancient as sea sponges. In fact, complex multicellular life would be impossible without the ability to exclude external life from the internal environment. This introduction to the immune system will explore the cell types and soluble factors involved in immune reactions, as well as their location in the body during development and maintenance. Additionally, a description of the immunological events during an innate and adaptive immune reaction to an infection will be discussed, as well as a brief introduction to autoimmunity, cancer immunity, vaccines, and immunotherapies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Scott McComb, Bassel Akache, Lakshmi Krishnan & Felicity Stark

  2. Division of Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Aude Thiriot

Authors
  1. Scott McComb
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  2. Aude Thiriot
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  3. Bassel Akache
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  4. Lakshmi Krishnan
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  5. Felicity Stark
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felicity Stark .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Kelly M. Fulton

  2. Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Susan M. Twine

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McComb, S., Thiriot, A., Akache, B., Krishnan, L., Stark, F. (2019). Introduction to the Immune System. In: Fulton, K., Twine, S. (eds) Immunoproteomics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2024. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9597-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9597-4_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9596-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9597-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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