title: A stochastic model of cytotoxic T cell responses.
abstract: We have constructed a stochastic stage-structured model of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to antigen and the maintenance of immunological memory. The model follows the dynamics of a viral infection and the stimulation, proliferation, and differentiation of naïve CD8(+) T cells into effector CTL, which can eliminate virally infected cells. The model is capable of following the dynamics of multiple T cell clones, each with a T cell receptor represented by a digit string. MHC-viral peptide complexes are also represented by strings and a string match rule is used to compute the affinity of a T cell receptor for a viral epitope. The avidities of interactions are also computed by taking into consideration the density of MHC-viral peptides on the surface of an infected cell. Lastly, the model allows the probability of T cell stimulation to depend on avidity but also incorporates the notion of an antigen-independent programmed proliferative response. We compare the model to experimental data on the cytotoxic T cell response to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Miles P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Davenport
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forrest
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Perelson
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008216:Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis / Q000276:immunology; D008217:Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus / Q000276:immunology; D018448:Models, Immunological; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral