"Host factors"--evolution of concepts of individual sensitivity and susceptibility
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Updated: Oct 3, 2026

Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response
Published on: January 12, 2017
W Hoffmann1, B Oberheitmann, R Frentzel-Beyme
1UFT-Centre for Environmental Research and Technology, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. HOFFMANN@Uni-Bremen.de
Abstract:
The detection of a rapidly increasing number of genetic polymorphisms in xenogen-metabolizing enzymes, of hereditary as well as acquired individual differences in DNA repair, and of the close associations between central nervous structures, the endocrine, and the immune system provides a challenge to develop an evidence-based, comprehensive model of susceptibility. Reviewing the evolution of respective approaches from 400 B.C. until today, this article proposes a conceptional framework that integrates the diverse, and sometimes puzzling contributions from all different fields of life science.
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