Immunophysics is a novel interdisciplinary research field using immunological, biological, physical and chemical approaches to elucidate and modify immune-mediated mechanisms and to expand our knowledge on the pathomechanisms of chronic immune-mediated diseases such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and chronic infections.
Background Immune reactions are tightly regulated and usually self-limited. Dysregulation can result in chronic inflammatory diseases (immunochronicity). In addition to biochemical molecular mechanisms, physical factors influence the immune system. Such components include:
Microenvironmental factors like tonicity, pH, oxygen pressure and the redox status of immune cells Mechanical factors, such as tissue pressure, cellular stiffness and cell motility Cell membrane physics such as membrane composition and particles The research field of immunophysics aims to investigate the influence of these physicochemical parameters on the function of the immune system in health and disease.
Methods Immunophysical techniques include nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dual-energy computed tomography, fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy, multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), high-throughput microfluidic cytometry, interferometric scattering microscopy (iSCAT) and cryogenic optical localization in 3D (COLD).
Applications Immunophysical research is considered to open new perspectives for the investigation of the pathomechanisms of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, help to develop novel detection methods and diagnostic tools in these diseases and advance the treatment possibilities of such diseases.
See also Inflammation
References
External links Department of Medicine 3, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department of Medicine 1, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department of Infection Biology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Archived 2020-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Archived 2017-06-04 at the Wayback Machine BioMolecular Modeling & Design Laboratory Archived 2018-05-19 at the Wayback Machine