Gell-Coombs classification

The Gell-Coombs classification is a classification of immunemechanisms of tissue injury, developed by two researchers at the Division of Immunology of the Department of Pathology of the University of Cambridge, Philip George Howthern Gell(1914-) and Robert Royston Amos Coombs(1921-).

The classification devised by Gell and Coombs in 1968 originally comprises four types, to which a fifth type was later proposed by other immunologists:

• Type I, immediate hypersensitivity reactions, which is mediated by immunoglobulinE (IgE) antibodies
• Type II, antibody-mediated hypersensitivity reactions, which include complement-dependent lysis, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity(ADCC), and phagocytosisinduced by the opsonizing antibody;
• Type III, immune complex?mediated hypersensitivity reactions, which include serum sickness, Arthus reactions, and systemic lupus erythematosus
• Type IV, cell-mediated hypersensitivity reactions, mediated by sensitized T lymphocytes, and involving lymphokinesor T-cell?mediated cytotoxicity. This type includes a group of well-studied allergic reactionssuch as contact dermatitis, allograft rejection, and graft-versus-host disease.

The additional proposed type V is related to biological antibody interference, such as autoimmune diseasesmediated by antireceptor antibodiesand blood coagulation disordersmediated by antibodies to coagulation factors.

References

• Rajan TV. The Gell-Coombs classification of hypersensitivity reactions: a re-interpretation. Trends Immunol. 2003 Jul;24(7):376-9. Abstract

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Coombs+classification Wikipedia article Gell-Coombs classification.