Antigen and Immunogen: An Investigation into the Heterogeneity of Immunology Terminology in Learning Resources

Abstract

The need to focus on immunology education has never been greater. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has revealed that a significant proportion of our society is vaccine hesitant. Some of this hesitancy may stem from a general lack of understanding of how the immune system and immunological interventions work. In addition, social media platforms undercut public health efforts by quickly propagating a multitude of misconceptions and erroneous information surrounding the science behind these interventions. The responsibility to be advocates for science is well recognized by immunology researchers, educators, and public health professionals, as evidenced by the rich body of resources developed to communicate science to the lay audience. Scientific jargon, however, can be a barrier to effective communication and can negatively impact learning and comprehension. The field of immunology is especially laden with discipline-specific terminology, which can hamper educators’ efforts to convey key concepts to learners. Furthermore, a lack of consistency in accepted definitions can complicate students’ conceptual understanding. Learning resources, including textbooks, published in print or available online, and exclusively digital resources, continue to serve as the primary sources of information for both educators and students. In this article, we describe a vast heterogeneity in learning resource glossary descriptions of two key conceptual terms: antigen and immunogen. We provide a perspective on pedagogical strategies to address these critical terms. Using current knowledge, we recommend an approach to standardize the definitions of the terms antigen and immunogen within the immunology educator community.

Immune Literacy: a Call to Action for a System-Level Change

“…Discipline-specific terminology is an integral part of immunology and that is why learning the terms and using them in the correct context is an essential part of progressing from novice to expert in the discipline. The COVID-19 pandemic raised awareness of many immunology and public health terms in the public, for example, “antigen” and “RT-PCR” ( 34 , 35 ). This is where knowing your audience is crucial.…”