Immunoregulatory

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the control or modulation of the body's immune system so that its responses are appropriately increased or decreased
2. Describing substances or processes that govern how the immune system reacts to infection, injury, or foreign material
3. Affecting the mechanisms that keep the immune response in balance, including activating or suppressing immune activity

Etymology: Immunoregulatory is a modern scientific compound, built by joining "immuno-" to "regulatory." The first half comes from "immune," which English borrowed from Middle French "immun," itself from Latin "immunis," meaning free from a burden or obligation. The Latin word was formed from "in-," meaning not, and "munus," meaning duty, service or gift. So "immune" originally described someone exempt from a public duty, and only later came to mean protected against disease. The "immuno-" element is a combining form that English scientists built from "immune" by adding the Latin-style "-o-" linking vowel, the same pattern used in many technical terms. It carries the sense of the immune system, the body's defence network, into compounds such as "immunology." "Regulatory" comes from "regulate," and so the whole word describes something that controls or modulates the immune response, such as certain cells or molecules that dampen overreaction. It is a plain, transparent formation, and its meaning follows directly from its two parts.

Synonyms: immunomodulatory