Essential Principles of Immunology
Founded upon the key principles of the immune response, Immuno-Oncology research seeks to understand how the body’s natural defenses can be leveraged to empower antitumor immunity.
These central concepts are crucial to this approach:
Self vs nonself. To protect the body, the immune response must be able to distinguish between normal healthy cells (self) and foreign threats (nonself). This enables the immune system to spare self and attack nonself cells.1-3
Innate and adaptive immunity. The 2 main components of the immune response, innate and adaptive immunity, act as complementary systems capable of recognizing and eliminating pathogens and cancer. Innate immunity is rapid and nonspecific, while adaptive immunity is durable and activated by specific threats.4,5
Learn more about the immune response
References
1. Bryceson YT, Ljunggren HG, Long EO. Minimal requirement for induction of natural cytotoxicity and intersection of activation signals by inhibitory receptors. Blood. 2009;114(13):2657-2666. 2. Campbell KS, Purdy AK. Structure/function of human killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors: lessons from polymorphisms, evolution, crystal structures and mutations. Immunology. 2011;132(2):315-325. 3. Martinet L, Smyth MJ. Balancing natural killer cell activation through paired receptors. Nat Rev Immunol. 2015;15:243-254. 4. Warrington R, Watson W, Kim HL, et al. An introduction to immunology and immunopathology. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2011;7(suppl 1):S1. 5. Nikolich-Zugich J. Ageing and life-long maintenance of T-cell subsets in the face of latent persistent infections. Nat Rev Immunol. 2008;8(7):512-522.