Immunosuppressant 168940 224966436 2008-07-11T06:07:53Z Rcej 1612789 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 224769537 by [[Special:Contributions/Brianpie|Brianpie]] ([[User talk:Brianpie|talk]]) - referenced content deleted, but not merged {{refimprove|date=April 2008}} An '''immunosuppressant''' is a substance that performs [[immunosuppression]] of the [[immune system]]. They may either be exogenous. as [[immunosuppressive drug]]s, or endogenous, as e.g. [[testosterone]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fimmel | fist = S | coauthors = Zouboulis CC |year=2005 |title=Influence of physiological androgen levels on wound healing and immune status in men |journal=Aging Male |volume=8 |pages=166&ndash;174 |pmid=16390741 |doi=10.1080/13685530500233847}}</ref> After [[organ transplantation]], the body will nearly always reject the new organ(s) due to differences in [[human leukocyte antigen]] [[haplotype]]s between the donor and recipient. As a result, the immune system detects the new tissue as "hostile", and attempts to remove it by attacking it with recipient [[leukocytes]], resulting in the death of the tissue. Immunosuppressants are applied as a countermeasure; the side effect is that the body becomes extremely vulnerable to infections, much like in an advanced [[HIV]] infection. ==References== {{reflist}} {{medicine-stub}} {{Immunosuppressants}} [[Category:Immunosuppressive agents]] [[es:Inmunosupresor]]