The Mammalian Immune System
The mammalian immune system protects the body with multiple levels of defense. At the simplest level, the skin, mucous membranes and other epithelial tissues provide a physical barrier to attack by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
If a pathogen manages to breach these barriers, an initial non-specific response is mounted by the innate immune system. If the pathogen is not cleared by the innate immune response, a second, more specific response is generated by the adaptive immune system.
The adaptive immune system is only found in vertebrates and while slower to react, provides a specific response tailored to the invading pathogen. An important aspect of the adaptive immune system is its ability to remember a pathogen, subsequent infections by a successfully cleared pathogen will be met with faster and stronger immune responses.
Cell Resource
Click on the images below to find out more about other immune cell types
Research Topics
The connection between inflammation and cancer can be viewed as consisting of two pathways, an external pathway that is driven by external factors such as inflammatory disease, and an internal pathway, driven by genetic changes that promote tumour formation.
The tumour microenvironment is an integrated network of various cell types including cancer, stromal, vascular, and immune cells. Tumor cells display aberrant cell growth and signaling patterns to create an environment that favors evasion of the immune system.