Crit Rev Immunol
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The purpose of immunology is simple. Cure or prevent disease. M1/M2 is useful because it is simple. ⋯ And, these diseases are often associated with (or caused by) M1- or M2- type responses that were formerly useful for fighting infections, but now are inappropriate in our increasingly "germ-free" societies. In turn, there is considerable potential for modulating M1 or M2 Innate responses in modern diseases to achieve better health. Finally, since M1 and Th1 (or M2 and Th2) often work in concert to produce characteristic immune responses and disease pathologies, it is recommended that Immune Type 1 or 2 (IT1, IT2) would be a simpler and unifying terminology going forward.