title: Recent progress using systems biology approaches to better understand molecular mechanisms of immunity.
abstract: The immune system is composed of multiple dynamic molecular and cellular networks, the complexity of which has been revealed by decades of exacting reductionist research. However, understanding of the immune system sufficient to anticipate its response to novel perturbations requires a more integrative or systems approach to immunology. While methods for unbiased high-throughput data acquisition and computational integration of the resulting datasets are still relatively new, they have begun to substantially enhance our understanding of immunological phenomena. Such approaches have expanded our view of interconnected signaling and transcriptional networks and have highlighted the function of non-linear processes such as spatial regulation and feedback loops. In addition, advances in single cell measurement technology have demonstrated potential sources and functions of response heterogeneity in system behavior. The success of the studies reviewed here often depended upon integration of one or more systems biology approaches with more traditional methods. We hope these examples will inspire a broader range of immunologists to probe questions in a quantitative and integrated manner, advancing collective efforts to understand the immune "system".
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gottschalk
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sjoelund
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Bastian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Angermann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
authors.forename: Ronald N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Germain
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D020239:Receptor Cross-Talk / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D049490:Systems Biology