title: The effects of symmetry on the dynamics  of antigenic variation.
abstract: In the studies of dynamics of pathogens and their interactions with a host immune system, an important role is played by the structure of antigenic variants associated with a pathogen. Using the example of a model of antigenic variation in malaria, we show how many of the observed dynamical regimes can be explained in terms of the symmetry of interactions between different antigenic variants. The results of this analysis are quite generic, and have wider implications for understanding the dynamics of immune escape of other parasites, as well as for the dynamics of multi-strain diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK. k.blyuss@sussex.ac.uk
authors.forename: Konstantin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Blyuss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D018448:Models, Immunological; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan