Systems immunology
Encyclopedia
Systems immunology is a recent research field that, under the larger umbrella of systems biology
, aims to study the immune system
in the more integrated perspective on how entities and players participate at different system levels to the immune function.
The immune system has been thoroughly analyzed as regards to its components and function by using a very successful "reductionist" approach, but its overall functioning principles cannot easily be predicted by studying the properties of its isolated components because they strongly rely on and arise from the interactions among these numerous constituents. Systems immunology represents a different approach for the integrated comprehension of the immune system structure and function based on complex systems
theory, high-throughput
techniques, as well as on mathematical and computational tools.
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
, aims to study the immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
in the more integrated perspective on how entities and players participate at different system levels to the immune function.
The immune system has been thoroughly analyzed as regards to its components and function by using a very successful "reductionist" approach, but its overall functioning principles cannot easily be predicted by studying the properties of its isolated components because they strongly rely on and arise from the interactions among these numerous constituents. Systems immunology represents a different approach for the integrated comprehension of the immune system structure and function based on complex systems
Complex systems
Complex systems present problems in mathematical modelling.The equations from which complex system models are developed generally derive from statistical physics, information theory and non-linear dynamics, and represent organized but unpredictable behaviors of systems of nature that are considered...
theory, high-throughput
High-throughput
High-throughput may refer to:* High-throughput computing - a computer science concept * High-throughput screening - a bioinformatics concept* Measuring data throughput - a communications concept...
techniques, as well as on mathematical and computational tools.
Articles
- Christophe Benoist, Ronald N. Germain, Diane Mathis, Immunological Reviews, Volume 210, Number 1, April 2006, pp. 229-234 (6) A Plaidoyer for 'Systems Immunology'
- Steven H. Kleinstein, PLoS Comput Biol. 2008 Aug 29;4(8):e1000128. Getting started in computational immunology
- Charlotte Schubert, Nature 473 (7345), 5 May 2011, pp. 113–114, Systems immunology: Complexity captured