Immunology

Immunology is the science studying the immune system. The immune system describes the biological protection against pathogens and infections. It is divided into two parallel entities: The innate immune response and the adaptive immune response. Immunology research area covers the different pathways by which the organism defends himself against foreign bodies. ProteoGenix offers a wide range of products involved in immunology research topic. Indeed our experience in development of proteins for therapeutic and diagnostic use enables us to provide many primary antibodies, including biosimilars, targeting antigens gathered among our recombinant protein catalog.

Globally all cells are involved in the immune response. The main organs of the immune system are the thymus and bone marrow as well as the lymphatic tissues. The scope of immunology covers two main study topics following the two main processes of the immune system. The first one is the innate immune response. It is characterized by a low specificity and a rapid activation upon contact with the foreign agent. Innate response is the first line of physiological defense. The timeframe of this response is in the hour range. On the contrary, adaptive or acquired immune response happens in the days following infection. It is the second line of defense. This second response enables the body to adapt faster and more efficiently at future infections. The innate immune system involves physical barriers such as skin, cells including neutrophils, macrophages and basophils, as well as cytokines and lysozymes. Adaptive immune response involves antibodies, B cells (lymphocytes) and T cells that cooperate to eliminate pathogens. The involved antibodies, in its humoral response, are formed to recognize specifically the pathogens and keep memory of the infection.
The failure of the immune system, or immunodeficiency, can lead to diseases such as cancer, allergies or autoimmunity.

Current research in immunology includes immunotherapy, autoimmune disease and vaccines. The immunologists, that develop this science, have also extended the study to safe organ transplantation and the use of monoclonal antibodies for healthcare. Immunology research is also deeply depending on the global sanitary situation and pandemias.

Interferon alpha (IFN alpha) is an example of protein involved in the innate immune response in case of viral infection. They are produced by plasmacytoid dendritic cells and divided in 13 subclasses. They are used today for the treatment of leukemia.

Cytokines are a class of proteins secreted during the innate immune response. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) for example is released by white blood cells to bind CD74surface receptor to stimulate the immune system.

As a third example Thymic stromal Lymphopoietin (TSLP) is involved in T lymphocytes differentiation via the activation of dendritic cells. It is currently studied in the case of allergic response.