Immunogen:Anysubstancewhichcan
elicitaspecificimmuneresponse.
Immunologicalmemory:Theabilitytopro-
duceafasterandstrongerimmunere-
sponsefollowingasecond,orsubse-
quent,encounterwiththesameantigen.
Intron:Thegenesegmentpresentbe-
tweentwoexons.
Irgenes:Immuneresponsegenes;an
earlydesignationusedforMHCgenes.
ThesecodeforMHCmoleculeswhich
controlpeptidepresentation,andthus
directlydeterminethespecificityand
strengthofanimmuneresponse.
Isologous:Ofidenticalgeneticconstitu-
tion.
Isotype:The“isotypic”variantsofcertain
proteinscodedwithinthegenome,
whichareidenticalforallindividuals
ofaspecies(e.g.,immunoglobulin
classes).
Jgenes:Joininggenes;asetofgeneseg-
mentscontainedwithinthegenetic
locioftheheavyandlightimmunoglo-
bulinchains,orT-cellreceptorchains.
Kcells:Killercells;agroupoflymphocytes
bearingFcreceptorswhichcande-
stroytheirtargetcellsbymeansof
antibody-dependentcell-mediatedcy-
totoxicity(ADCC).
Kupffercells:Phagocyticcellspresentin
thehepaticsinusoids.
LAK: Lymphokine-activated killer cells
(lymphocytes).
LARC:Liverandactivation-regulatedche-
mokine.
LCM:Lymphocytic choriomeningitis;an
non-bacterial,viral,meningitis.
LGL:Largegranularlymphocyte.
Lowresponder:Individuals(orinbred
strains)whichexhibitaweakimmune
responseagainstagivenantigen.
LPS:Lipopolysaccharide;acomponentof
thecellwallofcertainGram-negative
bacteria,whichactsasaB-cellmito-
gen.
MALT:Mucosa-associatedlymphoidtissue.
MBP:Myelinbasicprotein;functionsasan
antigeninexperimentalallergicence-
phalitis (and probably in multiple
sclerosis).MCP:Monocytechemoattractantprotein.
MDC:Macrophage-derivedchemokine.
MHC:Majorhistocompatibilitycomplex;
themaingeneticcomplexresponsible
for determining histocompatibility.
This genecomplex codes for the
mostimportanttransplantationanti-
gens (HLA antigens) in humans.
MHCclassImoleculesareassociated
withb 2 microglobulin,classIImole-
culesconsistof twononcovalently
bound transmembrane molecules.
TheactualfunctionofMHCI,and
MHCII,moleculesistopresentanti-
genicpeptidesonthecellsurface.
ClassIIImoleculescomprisecomple-
mentcomponents,cytokines,andso
on.
MHCrestriction:Resultingfromtheinter-
actionofTlymphocyteswithother
cells,andbeingcontrolledbyrecogni-
tionofMHC-presentedpeptidesbythe
TCR.
MIF:Migrationinhibitionfactors;agroup
ofpeptidesproducedbylymphocytes
whichinhibitmacrophagemigration.
MIG:Amonokineinducedbyinterferon
gamma.
b 2 microglobulin:Aproteincomponent
ofMHCclassImolecules.
MIP:Macrophageinflammatoryprotein.
Mitogen:Anysubstancewhichcanalone
stimulatecells,particularlylympho-
cytes,toundergocelldivision.
MLC:Mixedlymphocyteculture.Anin-vi-
troassaywhichmeasuresthestimula-
tionresponseoflymphocytesasallor-
eactivecytotoxicT-cellreactivity.
MLR:Mixedlymphocytereaction.Anin-vi-
troassaywhichmeasuresthestimula-
tionresponseoflymphocytesasallor-
eactiveproliferation(determinedby(^3) H-thymidineincorporation).
Monoclonal:Anysubstancederivedfrom
asinglecellclone,forexamplemono-
clonalantibodies.
Myeloma:AB-celllymphoma,whichpro-
ducesantibodies(plasmocytoma).
NKcells:Naturalkillercells.Non-MHC-
restrictedlymphocytescapableofre-
cognizinganddestroyingcertaincells
142 2 BasicPrinciplesofImmunology
2
All rights reserved. Usage subject to terms and conditions of license
Kayser, Medical Microbiology © 2005 Thieme
All rights reserved. Usage subject to terms and conditions of license.