714 research outputs found
Randomly Evolving Idiotypic Networks: Structural Properties and Architecture
We consider a minimalistic dynamic model of the idiotypic network of
B-lymphocytes. A network node represents a population of B-lymphocytes of the
same specificity (idiotype), which is encoded by a bitstring. The links of the
network connect nodes with complementary and nearly complementary bitstrings,
allowing for a few mismatches. A node is occupied if a lymphocyte clone of the
corresponding idiotype exists, otherwise it is empty. There is a continuous
influx of new B-lymphocytes of random idiotype from the bone marrow.
B-lymphocytes are stimulated by cross-linking their receptors with
complementary structures. If there are too many complementary structures,
steric hindrance prevents cross-linking. Stimulated cells proliferate and
secrete antibodies of the same idiotype as their receptors, unstimulated
lymphocytes die.
Depending on few parameters, the autonomous system evolves randomly towards
patterns of highly organized architecture, where the nodes can be classified
into groups according to their statistical properties. We observe and describe
analytically the building principles of these patterns, which allow to
calculate number and size of the node groups and the number of links between
them. The architecture of all patterns observed so far in simulations can be
explained this way. A tool for real-time pattern identification is proposed.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, 4 table
Anti-idiotypic antibody Ab2/3H6 mimicking gp41: a potential HIV-1 vaccine?
Meeting abstract from 22nd European Society for Animal Cell Technology(ESACT) Meeting on Cell Based Technologies Vienna, Austria. 15-18 May 2011(VLID)90658
Immunization and Aging: a Learning Process in the Immune Network
The immune system can be thought as a complex network of different
interacting elements. A cellular automaton, defined in shape-space, was
recently shown to exhibit self-regulation and complex behavior and is,
therefore, a good candidate to model the immune system. Using this model to
simulate a real immune system we find good agreement with recent experiments on
mice. The model exhibits the experimentally observed refractory behavior of the
immune system under multiple antigen presentations as well as loss of its
plasticity caused by aging.Comment: 4 latex pages, 3 postscript figures attached. To be published in
Physical Review Letters (Tentatively scheduled for 5th Oct. issue
A Hebbian approach to complex network generation
Through a redefinition of patterns in an Hopfield-like model, we introduce
and develop an approach to model discrete systems made up of many, interacting
components with inner degrees of freedom. Our approach clarifies the intrinsic
connection between the kind of interactions among components and the emergent
topology describing the system itself; also, it allows to effectively address
the statistical mechanics on the resulting networks. Indeed, a wide class of
analytically treatable, weighted random graphs with a tunable level of
correlation can be recovered and controlled. We especially focus on the case of
imitative couplings among components endowed with similar patterns (i.e.
attributes), which, as we show, naturally and without any a-priori assumption,
gives rise to small-world effects. We also solve the thermodynamics (at a
replica symmetric level) by extending the double stochastic stability
technique: free energy, self consistency relations and fluctuation analysis for
a picture of criticality are obtained
A statistical mechanics approach to autopoietic immune networks
The aim of this work is to try to bridge over theoretical immunology and
disordered statistical mechanics. Our long term hope is to contribute to the
development of a quantitative theoretical immunology from which practical
applications may stem. In order to make theoretical immunology appealing to the
statistical physicist audience we are going to work out a research article
which, from one side, may hopefully act as a benchmark for future improvements
and developments, from the other side, it is written in a very pedagogical way
both from a theoretical physics viewpoint as well as from the theoretical
immunology one.
Furthermore, we have chosen to test our model describing a wide range of
features of the adaptive immune response in only a paper: this has been
necessary in order to emphasize the benefit available when using disordered
statistical mechanics as a tool for the investigation. However, as a
consequence, each section is not at all exhaustive and would deserve deep
investigation: for the sake of completeness, we restricted details in the
analysis of each feature with the aim of introducing a self-consistent model.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figur
Randomly Evolving Idiotypic Networks: Modular Mean Field Theory
We develop a modular mean field theory for a minimalistic model of the
idiotypic network. The model comprises the random influx of new idiotypes and a
deterministic selection. It describes the evolution of the idiotypic network
towards complex modular architectures, the building principles of which are
known. The nodes of the network can be classified into groups of nodes, the
modules, which share statistical properties. Each node experiences only the
mean influence of the groups to which it is linked. Given the size of the
groups and linking between them the statistical properties such as mean
occupation, mean life time, and mean number of occupied neighbors are
calculated for a variety of patterns and compared with simulations. For a
pattern which consists of pairs of occupied nodes correlations are taken into
account.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 4 table
The Self Model and the Conception of Biological Identity in Immunology
The self/non-self model, first proposed by F.M. Burnet, has dominated immunology for sixty years now. According to this model, any foreign element will trigger an immune reaction in an organism, whereas endogenous elements will not, in normal circumstances, induce an immune reaction. In this paper we show that the self/non-self model is no longer an appropriate explanation of experimental data in immunology, and that this inadequacy may be rooted in an excessively strong metaphysical conception of biological identity. We suggest that another hypothesis, one based on the notion of continuity, gives a better account of immune phenomena. Finally, we underscore the mapping between this metaphysical deflation from self to continuity in immunology and the philosophical debate between substantialism and empiricism about identity
Equilibrium statistical mechanics on correlated random graphs
Biological and social networks have recently attracted enormous attention
between physicists. Among several, two main aspects may be stressed: A non
trivial topology of the graph describing the mutual interactions between agents
exists and/or, typically, such interactions are essentially (weighted)
imitative. Despite such aspects are widely accepted and empirically confirmed,
the schemes currently exploited in order to generate the expected topology are
based on a-priori assumptions and in most cases still implement constant
intensities for links. Here we propose a simple shift in the definition of
patterns in an Hopfield model to convert frustration into dilution: By varying
the bias of the pattern distribution, the network topology -which is generated
by the reciprocal affinities among agents - crosses various well known regimes
(fully connected, linearly diverging connectivity, extreme dilution scenario,
no network), coupled with small world properties, which, in this context, are
emergent and no longer imposed a-priori. The model is investigated at first
focusing on these topological properties of the emergent network, then its
thermodynamics is analytically solved (at a replica symmetric level) by
extending the double stochastic stability technique, and presented together
with its fluctuation theory for a picture of criticality. At least at
equilibrium, dilution simply decreases the strength of the coupling felt by the
spins, but leaves the paramagnetic/ferromagnetic flavors unchanged. The main
difference with respect to previous investigations and a naive picture is that
within our approach replicas do not appear: instead of (multi)-overlaps as
order parameters, we introduce a class of magnetizations on all the possible
sub-graphs belonging to the main one investigated: As a consequence, for these
objects a closure for a self-consistent relation is achieved.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figure
- …