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  Immunlogy Abbreviations

This tool will help you

• learn common abbreviations used by immunologists.
• understand immunology writing.
• speak "immunology" correctly.

 

1°	primary (example: primary response to first contact with a antigen)
2°	secondary (example: secondary response to repeat contact with a antigen)
aa	amino acid
Ab	antibody
ADCC	antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity
Ag	antigen
AIDS	acquired immune deficiency syndrome
APC	antigen-presenting cell
BCR	B cell (antigen) receptor = Ig
BM	bone marrow
C'	complement
C region	constant region of molecule or gene
CAM	cell adhesion molecule
CD	cluster designation, cluster of differentiation (cell surface molecule)
CDR	complementarity-determining (hypervariable) region of Ig
CMI	(T) cell-mediated immunity
CML	cell-mediated lysis
Con A	concanavalin A (a plant lectin)
CR	complement receptor
CSF	colony-stimulating factor
CTL	cytotoxic T lymphocyte
DC	dendritic cell
DTH	delayed type hypersensitivity
ELISA	enzyme linked immunosorbent assay
Fab	antigen-binding region of antibody
FACS	fluorescence-activated cell sorter
Fc	crystalizable region of antibody
FcR	receptor for antibody Fc
FR	framework region of antibody
H-2	mouse histocompatibility gene complex (MHC)
HA	hemagglutinin
H chain	heavy chain of Ig
HEV	high endothelial venule
HLA	human leukocyte antigen (MHC)
ICAM	intercellular adhesion molecule
IFN	interferon
Ig	immunoglobulin (antibody)
Ii	invariant chain of Class II MHC
IL	interleukin
J chain	joining chain of Ig A and IgM
J region	joining region of Ig and TCR genes
K cell	killer cell
LAK cell	lymphokine-activated killer cell
L chain	light chain of Ig
LFA	leukocyte functional antigen
LGL	large granular lymphocyte (NK cell)
LPS	lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin)
LT	lymphotoxin
mAb	monoclonal antibody
MAC	membrane attack complex (of complement)
MAF	macrophage activating factor
MALT	mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue
MHC	major histocompatibility complex
MIF	macrophage inhibitory factor
MLC	mixed lymphocyte culture
NK	natural killer cell
PAF	platelet activating factor
PALS	periarteriolar lymphoid sheath
PBL (PBML)	peripheral blood leukocyte (mononuclear cell)
PCA	passive cutaneous anaphylaxis
PCR	polymerase chain reaction
PFC	plaque-forming cell
PHA	phytohemagglutinin (a plant lectin)
PMN	polymorphonuclear leukocyte (usually a neutrophil)
PWM	pokeweed mitogen (a plant lectin)
RBC	red blood cell (erythrocyte)
RES	reticuloendothelial system
RIA	radioimmunoassay
TAP	transporter of antigen protein
Tc	cytotoxic T cell
TCR	T cell (antigen) receptor
Td	delayed type hypersensitivity T cell (now called Th1)
TdT	terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase
Th	helper T cell (now called Th1 or Th2)
TNF	tumor necrosis factor
Ts	suppressor T cell
V region	variable region of a molecule or gene

Vocabulary

Immunologists use these common English words in ways specific to immune function. Watch for them and be aware of their immunological meaning:

chaperone: a molecule which controls the three dimensional folding and transport of another molecule.

competent: having a fully functioning immune system.

complement (note spelling!!!): a group of proteins in blood which attract white blood cells to the site of infection, help them engulf the pathogen, and kill some pathogens by making their membranes leaky.

discriminate: to tell the difference between two antigens and especially between "self" and "non-self" (foreign) antigens, a fundamental property of the immune system.

diversity: the large number of antibodies and T cell antigen receptors that can be produced by the immune system; by extension, the large number of antigens that can be recognized and to which responses can be made.

foreign: not naturally found in your body, something that signals the immune system to make a protective response. Infectious agents are foreign; so are pollens, cat dander, and transplanted human organs.

immunity: protection from disease arising from previous exposure to a pathogen or vaccine.

naïve: a lymphocyte which has not yet encountered its specific antigen, or an individual who has not been exposed to a particular antigen.

native [antigen]: as it exists in nature; not processed.

memory: the ability of the immune system and of lymphocytes to respond more quickly to a repeat encounter with an antigen. We are vaccinated against pathogens to generate immune memory.

neutralization: the ability of antibody to inactivate a toxin or to block a virus from infecting a cell .

presentation: the display of small antigen fragments bound to specialized proteins on the surface of antigen-presenting cells or virus-infected cells. T lymphocytes can only respond to presented antigen.

processed [antigen]: cut into small pieces (usually peptides) for presentation to T cells.

professional [antigen presenting cell]: a cell whose predominant functions include presentation of antigen, for example, macrophages, dendritic cells, and B lymphocytes. Virus-infected cells present antigen as long as they are infected, but presentation is not their predominant function.

recognize/see: to bind antigen specifically to a cell surface receptor. This is a property of B and T lymphocytes, and initiates the immune response that results in immune memory.

repertoire: the complete "list" of antigens each person's immune system can recognize and to which it can respond. In most of us, this repertoire is probably in the hundreds of millions of antigens.

tolerance: the inability of the immune response to respond to antigen. The immune system is usually tolerant to "self" antigens because lymphocytes that can recognize self are eliminated before they mature. T lymphocytes are also tolerant to antigens which are not presented.

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