Immunology

R&D Systems specializes in providing the highest quality reagents for assessing immune system function. These include a wide selection of tools to study cytokines, chemokines, co-stimulation, hematopoiesis, and apoptosis. Choose from an array of ELISAs, antibodies, active proteins, cell markers, multiplex assays, cell selection kits, flow cytometry kits, primers, and more.

The immune system is composed of the orchestrated activities of many cell types designed to protect the host from microbes, toxins, and tumor formation. The innate response is rapid and is the first line of host defense. It involves the activities of several cell types including macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer cells, and granulocytes. Conversely, the adaptive response may take days to become effective while defense mechanisms are built up against a specific antigen. B cells produce antibodies, while active T cell subtypes secrete cytokines that regulate the functions of an array of cell types, as well as having the ability to kill infected or cancerous cells directly. When unregulated, the immune system is responsible for autoimmune disease and/or excessive inflammatory reactions that can damage normal cells and tissues.