A Comprehensive Mathematical Model Simulating the Adaptive Immune Response

Abstract

Adaptive immunity plays a crucial role in defending against invading pathogenic microorganisms. It encompasses both humoral and cellular immune responses. For the first time, we have systematically developed a mathematical model of adaptive immunity that comprehensively incorporates the effects of both humoral and cellular immunity. Our model successfully explains several key immunological phenomena, including the formation of immune memory (involving both B-cell and T-cell memory), the mechanism of original antigenic sin, the basis of secondary infections, and the processes of activation and exhaustion in cellular immunity. Furthermore, we employed a discrete time-scale agent-based modeling approach to simulate the dynamics of the adaptive immune response following pathogen invasion, with a specific focus on elucidating the mechanisms underlying chronic infection. Finally, we have established a novel mathematical model of the interaction between cancer cells and the immune system, providing a more robust theoretical foundation for cancer immunotherapy.