Immunomodulation is modulation (regulatory adjustment) of the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

. It has natural and human-induced forms, and thus the word can refer to the following: *

Homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis) Help:IPA/English, (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physics, physical, and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. Thi ...

in the immune system, whereby the system self-regulates to adjust immune responses to adaptive rather than maladaptive levels (using regulatory T cells, cell signaling molecules, and so forth) * Immunomodulation as part of

immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

, in which immune responses are induced, amplified, attenuated, or prevented according to therapeutic goals

See also