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How T-cells use large deviations to recognize foreign antigens

Journal of Mathematical Biology volume 57, pages 841–861 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

A stochastic model for the activation of T-cells is analysed. T-cells are part of the immune system and recognize foreign antigens against a background of the body’s own molecules. The model under consideration is a slight generalization of a model introduced by Van den Berg et al. (J Theor Biol 209:465–486, 2001), and is capable of explaining how this recognition works on the basis of rare stochastic events. With the help of a refined large deviation theorem and numerical evaluation it is shown that, for a wide range of parameters, T-cells can distinguish reliably between foreign antigens and self-antigens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Fakultät, Universität Bielefeld, Postfach 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany

    Natali Zint & Ellen Baake

  2. Mathematisch Instituut, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9512, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Frank den Hollander

  3. EURANDOM, Postbus 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Frank den Hollander

Authors
  1. Natali Zint
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  2. Ellen Baake
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  3. Frank den Hollander
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Correspondence to Ellen Baake.

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Zint, N., Baake, E. & den Hollander, F. How T-cells use large deviations to recognize foreign antigens. J. Math. Biol. 57, 841–861 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-008-0191-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-008-0191-1

Keywords

  • Immune system
  • T-cells
  • Antigen-presenting cells
  • Foreign versus self
  • Kinetics of stimulation
  • Large deviations
  • Activation curves

Mathematics Subject Classification (2000)

  • 60F10
  • 92C37