ABSTRACT
Translational immunology is an emerging fi eld and represents the combination of several scientifi c specialties. Translational biology, as applied to immunology, is the study of intercellular biochemical pathways within cells that allow cells to function in a specifi c manner. Many of these pathways intersect and are infl uenced by external stimuli, as when a cell’s receptor, say, the T cell receptor or TCR, comes in contact with its ligand ( peptide antigen/MHC complex). This interaction induces a series of biochemical changes within the T cell to signal it, for example, to divide, secrete lymphokines, or differentiate into another type of T cell (Birmingham 2002). Because this is an emerging fi eld of study, many basic T cell immunologists, like me, have been waiting in the wings, until the science of intercellular pathways started to make sense. Most people have had diffi culty understanding this subject, but it is something we need to know.
