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

The findings show that even a small change in how vaccine components are arranged can determine whether a nanovaccine produces a limited immune response or a powerful tumor destroying effect.

From Science Daily

This shift turns a normally protective immune response into one that helps cancer thrive.

From Science Daily

This finding suggests the gene may help drive the heightened immune response that defines the disease.

From Science Daily

These cells are the ones that suppress the immune response and are primarily located within tumors.

From Science Daily

Using shared features of these viral proteins, they engineered an optimized antigen, the portion of the virus that prompts an immune response.

From Science Daily