Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression is reduced activity of the immune system caused by disease, medication, or another factor. It can weaken protection against infections and some cancers while reducing harmful immune responses.

Immunosuppressive drug: A medication that reduces one or more immune responses. These drugs produce immunosuppression through targeted or broad effects on immune cells.
Organ transplantation: The transfer of an organ from a donor to a recipient to replace a failing organ. Immunosuppression helps prevent the recipient's immune system from rejecting a transplanted organ.
Opportunistic infection: An infection that causes disease more readily when host defenses are weakened. Immunosuppression can allow microbes that are usually controlled to cause serious illness.
Immunodeficiency: Impaired immune function that increases susceptibility to infections or other disease. Immunodeficiency describes deficient defenses, while immunosuppression describes reduced immune activity or its causes.
Selective immunosuppression: Suppression directed at particular immune pathways or cell populations while sparing others. More selective suppression aims to control disease with fewer broad immune consequences.
Calcineurin inhibitor: A drug that suppresses T-cell activation by inhibiting calcineurin-dependent signaling. Tacrolimus and cyclosporine reduce immune activity by blocking this signaling pathway.
Autoimmune disease: A disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues. Suppressing immune activity can limit tissue damage in autoimmune diseases.
Cytomegalovirus: A herpesvirus that can persist lifelong and reactivate when immune defenses weaken. Reactivation is a significant infection risk after transplantation and other intense immunosuppression.
Immunomodulation: A change in immune activity that may increase, decrease, or redirect a response. Immunomodulation includes effects that are not simply immune suppression.
Biomarkers of immunosuppression: Measurable biological features used to estimate the degree or effects of immune suppression. Reliable biomarkers could guide dosing more precisely than clinical observation alone.

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