immune response
Americannoun
noun
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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.
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See also cell-mediated immune response humoral immune response
Etymology
Origin of immune response
First recorded in 1950–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the animals reached adulthood, this disruption led to an overactive immune response and chronic inflammation, significantly increasing the risk of inflammatory gut diseases and obesity.
From Science Daily
When Levis began working with leprosy in the lab in the early 1980s, it appealed to him primarily as a model for studying immune response.
"Because glycans are known to restrain the immune response to cancer in multiple tumor types, we suspect our molecules could offer new and potentially more effective treatment options for many cancer patients."
From Science Daily
Ceralasertib targets a protein that is crucial for DNA damage responses and cell survival to treat tumors in combination with other drugs that enhance the body’s immune response.
The results also pointed to an extreme immune response consistent with fatal anaphylaxis.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.