immune response

American  

noun

1. any of the body's immunologic reactions to an antigen.

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immune response British  

noun

1. the reaction of an organism's body to foreign materials (antigens), including the production of antibodies

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immune response Scientific  

/ ĭ-myo̅o̅n′ /

1. A protective response of the body's immune system to an antigen, especially a microorganism or virus that causes disease. The immune response involves the action of lymphocytes that deactivate antigens either by stimulating the production of antibodies (humoral immune response) or by a direct attack on foreign cells (cell-mediated immune response.) An inability to produce a normal immune response results in immunodeficiency diseases such as AIDS.

2. See also cell-mediated immune response humoral immune response

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Etymology

Origin of immune response

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Subsequent scans appeared to show a positive immune response in the brain - and a a small clinical trial is now trying to replicate those results.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

Lymphocytes are white blood cells that help direct the adaptive immune response.

From Science Daily • May 31, 2026

The compounds also appear to have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, which may help regulate the body's immune response, particularly in more severe cases of COVID-19.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

A human trial of an Andes virus vaccine found the shot triggered an immune response in healthy adults.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

In contrast, mice inoculated with the rough strain mounted an immune response and survived.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee