Chapter Overview

Discoveries in basic immune function have created powerful medical tools to artificially induce protective immunities and to determine the status of the immune system.
Immunization may be administered by means of passive and active methods.
Passive immunity is acquired by infusing antiserum taken from other patients’ blood that contains high levels of protective antibodies. This form of immunotherapy is short-lived.
Active methods involve administering a vaccine against an infectious agent that may be encountered in the future. This form of protection provides a longer-lived immunity.
Vaccines contain some form of microbial antigen that has been altered so that it stimulates a protective immune response without causing the disease.
Vaccines can be made from whole dead or live cells and viruses, parts of cells or viruses, or by recombinant DNA techniques.
Reactions between antibodies and antigens provide specific and sensitive tests that can be used in diagnosis of disease and identification of pathogens.
Serology involves the testing of a patient’s blood serum for antibodies that can indicate a current or past infection and the degree of immunity.
Tests that produce visible interactions of antibodies and antigens include agglutination, precipitation, and complement fixation.
Assays can be used to separate antigens and antibodies and visualize them with radioactivity or fluorescence. These include immunoelectrophoresis, the Western blot, and direct and indirect immunoassays.

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