Adjuvants, Immunologic
Synonyms
Adjuvant, Immunologic
Adjuvant, Immunological
Adjuvants, Immunological
Immunoactivators
Immunoadjuvants
Immunologic Adjuvant
Immunologic Adjuvants
Immunological Adjuvant
Immunological Adjuvants
Immunopotentiators
Immunostimulants
Substances that augment, stimulate, activate, potentiate, or modulate the immune response at either the cellular or humoral level. The classical agents (Freund's adjuvant, BCG, Corynebacterium parvum, et al.) contain bacterial antigens. Some are endogenous (e.g., histamine, interferon, transfer factor, tuftsin, interleukin-1). Their mode of action is either non-specific, resulting in increased immune responsiveness to a wide variety of antigens, or antigen-specific, i.e., affecting a restricted type of immune response to a narrow group of antigens. The therapeutic efficacy of many biological response modifiers is related to their antigen-specific immunoadjuvanticity.
See Also