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A Mathematical Model of Immune Activation with a Unified Self-Nonself Concept

Overview of attention for article published in Frontiers in immunology, January 2013
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Title
A Mathematical Model of Immune Activation with a Unified Self-Nonself Concept
Published in
Frontiers in immunology, January 2013
DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00474
Pubmed ID
Authors

Sahamoddin Khailaie, Fariba Bahrami, Mahyar Janahmadi, Pedro Milanez-Almeida, Jochen Huehn, Michael Meyer-Hermann

Abstract

The adaptive immune system reacts against pathogenic nonself, whereas it normally remains tolerant to self. The initiation of an immune response requires a critical antigen(Ag)-stimulation and a critical number of Ag-specific T cells. Autoreactive T cells are not completely deleted by thymic selection and partially present in the periphery of healthy individuals that respond in certain physiological conditions. A number of experimental and theoretical models are based on the concept that structural differences discriminate self from nonself. In this article, we establish a mathematical model for immune activation in which self and nonself are not distinguished. The model considers the dynamic interplay of conventional T cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and IL-2 molecules and shows that the renewal rate ratio of resting Tregs to naïve T cells as well as the proliferation rate of activated T cells determine the probability of immune stimulation. The actual initiation of an immune response, however, relies on the absolute renewal rate of naïve T cells. This result suggests that thymic selection reduces the probability of autoimmunity by increasing the Ag-stimulation threshold of self reaction which is established by selection of a low number of low-avidity autoreactive T cells balanced with a proper number of Tregs. The stability analysis of the ordinary differential equation model reveals three different possible immune reactions depending on critical levels of Ag-stimulation: a subcritical stimulation, a threshold stimulation inducing a proper immune response, and an overcritical stimulation leading to chronic co-existence of Ag and immune activity. The model exhibits oscillatory solutions in the case of persistent but moderate Ag-stimulation, while the system returns to the homeostatic state upon Ag clearance. In this unifying concept, self and nonself appear as a result of shifted Ag-stimulation thresholds which delineate these three regimes of immune activation.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 65 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 65 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 17 26%
Researcher 10 15%
Professor 7 11%
Student > Bachelor 5 8%
Student > Master 4 6%
Other 11 17%
Unknown 11 17%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 18 28%
Medicine and Dentistry 7 11%
Engineering 6 9%
Immunology and Microbiology 5 8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 4 6%
Other 12 18%
Unknown 13 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 26 December 2013.
All research outputs
#22,759,802
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in immunology
#27,421
of 31,520 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#258,420
of 289,004 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in immunology
#335
of 503 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 31,520 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.4. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 289,004 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 503 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.