The study of the immune system in organisms, primarily responsible for fighting infection.
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votes
1answer
116 views
In which order did the cells of the immune system evolve?
Thinking about how complex the interactions between different types of immune system cells (T-helpers, T-Killers, Phagocytes, B-Cells etc.) are, it's fascinating how they all combine to get the ...
4
votes
1answer
112 views
From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain
Recently, some research, for example this article has proposed that inflammation can cause innate immune cells to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines that act on the brain to cause sickness behaviour.
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votes
0answers
39 views
Using the IMGT/GENE-DB service to find RSS
I'm trying to get the data for the Human and Mouse 12 and 23 Recomination
Signal Sequences (RSS), to run a classification algorithm on it. I'm not a
biologist, so I apologise in advance for my ...
9
votes
1answer
92 views
Organ cloning - possible to make a non-antigenic organ?
From a J. Neil Schulman article on Organ Cloning:
Cannibalizing organs from other people also entails the risk of
rejection because of incompatibilities, not only for tissue-typing but
also ...
12
votes
1answer
130 views
Why do people dying of immune deficiency diseases appear sick?
Please forgive the obviously silly appearance of this question, and/or of the tenor which may come across as flippant or dismissive of real world suffering. My intention is none of the above.
As a ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Harmless virus?
Is it possible for a virus to live symbiotically with its host?
Is the human body plagued with viral infections that do negligible harm, or even serve a beneficial role?
4
votes
2answers
341 views
What's the advantage of autocrine signalling?
In the antibody-mediated immune response, when the helper T cell gets activated by the costimulus (IL-2 and TNF-α secreted by the APC) which in turn produces IL-2, IL-2 acts in an autocrine manner. ...
5
votes
1answer
901 views
What cells would have the CD3 marker on them (other than T-cells)
Do you know of any peripheral blood mononuclear cells that would express any amount (beit low or high) of CD3 on their surface (other than T-cells)?
18
votes
1answer
332 views
Are lymphocyte sizes clustered in two groups?
Tortora writes in Principles of Anatomy and Physiology:
Lymphocytes may be as small as 6–9 μm in diameter or as large as 10–14 μm in diameter.
Those ranges are quite close to each others. Should ...
9
votes
1answer
88 views
Why is there an extended delay before G.M. liver cells are attacked by the immune system?
In this BBC article a trial is described where patients with B-Haemophillia are infected with modified Adeno-associated Virus 8 which contained the genes for Factor IX clotting protein. Trials seemed ...
11
votes
1answer
82 views
What are the main mechanisms of interaction between the nervous and immune systems?
We know from pop science that our psychological states have an effect on our immune systems ("worrying ourselves sick", etc.), but what are the actual mechanisms through which our nervous systems pass ...
