immune surveillance

variants: or immunosurveillance \ ˌi-myə-nō-sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s

How to pronounce immunosurveillance (audio)

, i-ˌmyü-nō- also -ˈvāl-yən(t)s or -ˈvā-ən(t)s \ or less commonly immunological surveillance

Definition of immune surveillance

: the monitoring process by which cells of the immune system (such as natural killer cells, cytotoxic T cells, or macrophages) detect and destroy premalignant or malignant cells in the body Scientists believe the immune system culls cells whose genetic machinery has gone haywire; errant cells that escape immune surveillance can become self-replicating monsters.— David Stipp According to [Douglas] Hanahan and [Robert A.] Weinberg, one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer is the ability to escape immunosurveillance and an enabling characteristic for the acquisition of these capabilities is the inflammation propagated by the tumor.— Ioannis L. Aivaliotis et al. broadly : any monitoring process of the immune system that detects and destroys foreign substances, cells, or tissues Once their bodies were no longer exposed regularly to the [HIV] virus, however, immune surveillance stopped, allowing latent pockets of the virus, which previously had not caused a full-blown infection, to multiply explosively. — Thomas H. Maugh

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Last Updated

27 Apr 2020

Cite this Entry

“Immune surveillance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immune%20surveillance. Accessed 24 May. 2020.

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More Definitions for immune surveillance

immune surveillance

noun

variants: or immunosurveillance \ ˌim-yə-nō-sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s

, im-ˌyü-nō- also -ˈvāl-yən(t)s or -ˈvā-ən(t)s \ also immunological surveillance

Medical Definition of immune surveillance

: the monitoring process by which cells of the immune sytstem (as natural killer cells, cytotoxic T cells, or macrophages) detect and destroy premalignant or malignant cells in the body In transplant recipients, the increased incidence of HPV-related malignancies suggests the greater oncogenic potential of the virus in the setting of impaired immune surveillance.— Brittany N. Stiebing et al. According to [Douglas] Hanahan and [Robert A.] Weinberg, one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer is the ability to escape immunosurveillance and an enabling characteristic for the acquisition of these capabilities is the inflammation propagated by the tumor.— Ioannis L. Aivaliotis et al. broadly : any monitoring process of the immune system that detects and destroys foreign substances, cells, or tissues One way in which an infectious agent can evade immune surveillance is by altering its antigens; this is particularly important for extracellular pathogens, against which the principal defense is the production of antibody against their surface structures. — C. A. Janeway Jr. et al.