Dynamics of Immunological Models

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Pinto, AA (Author) FCUP; Burroughs, NJ (Author) Other; Ferreira, M (Author) Other; Oliveira, BMPM (Author) FCNAUP

Journal

Title: Acta Biotheoretica

Vol. 58 No. 4

Pages: 391-404

ISSN: 0001-5342

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 6 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 8 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Mathematics

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-08T

DOI: 10.1007/s10441-010-9117-6

Abstract (EN): We analyse the effect of the regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the local control of the immune responses by T cells. We obtain an explicit formula for the level of antigenic stimulation of T cells as a function of the concentration of T cells and the parameters of the model. The relation between the concentration of the T cells and the antigenic stimulation of T cells is an hysteresis, that is unfold for some parameter values. We study the appearance of autoimmunity from cross-reactivity between a pathogen and a self antigen or from bystander proliferation. We also study an asymmetry in the death rates. With this asymmetry we show that the antigenic stimulation of the Tregs is able to control locally the population size of Tregs. Other effects of this asymmetry are a faster immune response and an improvement in the simulations of the bystander proliferation. The rate of variation of the levels of antigenic stimulation determines if the outcome is an immune response or if Tregs are able to maintain control due to the presence of a transcritical bifurcation for some tuning between the antigenic stimuli of T cells and Tregs. This behavior is explained by the presence of a transcritical bifurcation.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

Notes: <a href="http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=WOS&DestLinkTy pe=FullRecord&KeyUT=000284154100008">Indexado na ISI Web of Science</a>

No. of pages: 14