Back تفاعلية متصالبة Arabic Unakrsna reaktivnost BS Reactivitat creuada Catalan Zkřížená reakce Czech Kreuzreaktivität German Reactividad cruzada Spanish Immunité croisée French Reattività crociata Italian 交差反応性 Japanese 교차 반응성 Korean
Cross-reactivity, in a general sense, is the reactivity of an observed agent which initiates reactions outside the main reaction expected. This has implications for any kind of test or assay, including diagnostic tests in medicine, and can be a cause of false positives. In immunology, the definition of cross-reactivity refers specifically to the reaction of the immune system to antigens. There can be cross-reactivity between the immune system and the antigens of two different pathogens, or between one pathogen and proteins on non-pathogens, which in some cases can be the cause of allergies.