Title: immunostimulation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - immunostimulation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13318
Status: current

Definition
Increase in immune function, e.g., by use of bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine or drugs.

Note
Immunostimulation may be beneficial (e.g., restoration of a depressed immune response) or detrimental (e.g., induction by drugs of allergy, hypersensitivity, or autoimmunity).

Related Terms
- allergy: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12859
- autoimmunity: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12925
- bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12940
- hypersensitivity: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13241

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1191 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13318/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13318/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13318/xml

Citation: Citation: 'immunostimulation' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13318
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-14T13:51:37+00:00