Innate Immunity: New Approaches to Understanding Its Clinical Significance

Abstract

Immunologists view innate immunity as evolution’s ancient host response to infectious agents. Unlike vertebrates, in which antibodies and T-cell subsets rely on somatic mutations, molecular participants of innate immunity are encoded in the genome. Despite its heritage, many of innate immunity’s sentinel molecules, intracellular transcriptional controls, and effector molecules participate in the pathogenesis of numerous complex human diseases.