Science Degree Program in China - Immunology

1. Introduction

Immunology is the biomedical science that studies the immune response of the organism to the antigenic properties and its methods. Immune response is the reaction of the body against the original stimulus, but also against the identification and elimination of the original substance of a biological process.

Immunity is a physiological function of the body to recognize the "self" and "non self" antigens, and to form natural immune tolerance to self antigens and forms rejection function to "non self" antigens. Under normal circumstances, the physiological function of the body is beneficial, can produce anti infection, anti tumor and so on to maintain the body's physiological balance and stability of the immune protective effect. Under certain conditions, when the immune function disorders, it will be harmful to the body's response and results, such as the cause of hypersensitivity, autoimmune diseases and tumors and so on.

2. Immune Function

The body's immune function is the response to the antigen stimulation, and the immune response performs as the immune system identifies itself and excludes non self. Immune function plays roles based on the immune recognition. The functions mainly include the immune defense against exogenous foreign bodies (mainly infectious factors), removing the immunity of the recession or damaged cells to maintain its own stability and eliminating the immune surveillance of the mutant cells.

1) Immunologicaldefence

2) Immune homeostasis

3) Immune surveillance

3. Immune Diseases

Immune diseases are the diseases caused by that the imbalanced immune control and affect body’s immune response. Generalized immune disorders also include congenital or acquired causes that cause immune system structure or functional abnormalities. Autoimmune disease is an immune system responding to the body's own components, resulting in damage and causing disease. Under the influence of some factors, the body's tissue composition or the immune system itself has some abnormalities, causing the immune system to mistake itself as foreign objects to attack. At this time the immune system produces according to the components of the body's own antibodies and activated lymphocytes. The damage their own organs, leading to disease, such as: rheumatoid arthritis, system lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren's syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis.

4. Detection Methods

1) Humoral immunity determination: mainly use antigen and corresponding antibody bind in vitro and has the reaction in a number of auxiliary factors involved in, so as to use known antigens or antibodies to detect unknown antibodies or antigens. Including

Agglutination reaction: direct agglutination reaction and indirect agglutination reaction

Precipitation reaction: one way diffusion test, two way diffusion test, convection immune electrophoresis

Neutralization test

Immunofluorescence (fluorescent antibody method)

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Hemolytic plaque test

Immunoblotting technique

2) Cell immune assay: according to the unique symbol and produced cytokines of the surface of a variety of immune cells (T cells, B cells, K cells, NK cells and macrophages, etc.) to determine various immune cells and its subsets in number and function, to help understand the host cellular immunity.

Lymphocyte transformation test

E- wreath method

Detection of T cell subsets

Cytotoxicity test

Measurement of phagocytic function of macrophage

Mobile inhibition test

Time resolves fluorescence measurement technique

Cytokine detection technology

Detection of cell receptor

5. Branch Disciplines

In essence, modern immunology is a branch of biomedicine. But with the development of science and technology, itself derives many independent branches, for example, the molecular immunology, immunology biology and immune genetic which are closely related to modern biology, immunity blood, immune pharmacology, immune pathology, reproductive immunology, transplantation immunology, tumor immunology, anti infection immunology, clinical immunology which are closely related to medicine.

6. Research Directions

Foundation and application of new vaccine molecular design, innate and adaptive immune mechanisms and regulation, molecular and cellular basis of tumor immunity, autoimmune disease recognition and response mechanism