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Immunochemistry is the study of the chemistry of the immune system. [1] This involves the study of the properties, functions, interactions and production of the chemical components of the immune system. It also include immune responses and determination of immune materials/products by immunochemical assays.
In addition, immunochemistry is the study of the identities and functions of the components of the immune system. Immunochemistry is also used to describe the application of immune system components, in particular antibodies, to chemically labelled antigen molecules for visualization.
Various methods in immunochemistry have been developed and refined, and used in scientific study, from virology to molecular evolution. Immunochemical techniques include: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting (e.g., Western blot assay), precipitation and agglutination reactions, immunoelectrophoresis, immunophenotyping, immunochromatographic assay and flow cytometry.
One of the earliest examples of immunochemistry is the Wasserman test to detect syphilis. Svante Arrhenius was also one of the pioneers in the field; he published Immunochemistry in 1907 which described the application of the methods of physical chemistry to the study of the theory of toxins and antitoxins.
Immunochemistry is also studied from the aspect of using antibodies to label epitopes of interest in cells (immunocytochemistry) or tissues (immunohistochemistry).
Chemical Components of the Immune System
| Chemical Component | Produced By | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Cytokines | T cells, macrophages | Immune signaling |
| Antibodies | Plasma cells | Neutralization of Pathogen |
| Complement proteins | Liver | Pathogen lysis, opsonization |
| Acute-phase proteins | Liver | Inflammation, opsonization |
| Chemokines | Immune cells | Recruitment of Cell |
| Histamine | Mast cells | Vasodilation |
| Prostaglandins | Macrophages | Inflammation, pain |
