Antigen
Antigens are substances that are recognised by the immune system. Very often these are proteins which are either on or in a cell or which are secreted by a tumour cell.
Antigen presenting cell
A group of cells which can alert the immune system which includes dendritic cells (see below)
Adjuvants
A substance used in immunology that enhances the immune response stimulated by an antigen when injected with the antigen
Assay
A laboratory technique to quantitatively test an immune response
Autologous
Patient’s own cells, i.e. Originating from the recipient rather than a donor
Where cells, often white blood cells, respond to destroy foreign materials directly or act to regulate other cells during an immune response.
Cytokines
As well as blood cells and antibodies, large numbers of chemicals are produced to assist in the immune response. E.g. IL2 and Interferon used in cancer therapy
Dendritic cells are central to the regulation of the cellular response. The function of dendritic cells is to look for and recognise foreign materials and to transport these materials to areas such as lymph nodes, where they can be recognised by T cells. In this way dendritic cells are important for “showing” the t-cells what to respond to.
The immune system is a network of cells and other factors which work together to fight infection. It is complicated with many different layers of defence and regulation, but broadly speaking it can be split into two categories; Humoral immunity (antibodies circulating in the blood which recognise foreign materials and aid in their destruction) and Cellular (where cells, often white blood cells, respond to destroy foreign materials directly or act to regulate other cells during an immune response). Cancer vaccines can be made to stimulate both sorts of immunity but dendritic cell vaccines are specific to cellular immunity.
Any approach which involves manipulating the immune system. This can include vaccines, but also some drugs, antibody treatments (for example Herceptin), the transfer of immunologically active cells from one person to another and the use of non-specific immune stimulants (for example BCG, a bacterium used to treat bladder cancer).
Peptide
A very small piece of a protein which can be recognised by T cells and which is sometimes used in vaccines to simulate antibody production.
Proteins are chemicals that are naturally found in all living cells. They perform many functions in a cell ranging from purely structural (they maintain size and shape of cells) to metabolic (they make chemical reactions happen inside cells). Proteins can be found inside the cell and also bound to the exterior surface of the cell. Sometimes, as with hormones, proteins are used to communicate between cells and so are secreted.
T-Lymphocytes
Also called T-cells. These are specialised cells which respond to stimulation by dendritic cells plus a peptide antigen. They have multiple roles in the immune response including directly attacking abnormal cells and regulating the response of other T cells.
Vaccine
Any antigen which may be given to induce an immune response against the ‘real’ thing. E.g. A virus or cancer cell. A sort of sham attack alerting the immune system for a possible real invasion in the future.
