Mathematical Biology Seminar

Brian Evavold, U of Utah School of Medicine
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
2:30pm in JTB 110
Kinetics of the T cell immune response

Abstract: When challenged with a foreign antigen and a signal of danger, the immune system mounts a defensive response with a characteristic dynamics and time scale. One might expect a stronger immune response with more antigen, or when the initial number of reactive T cells is larger. Our experiments with the EAE (Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis) model of multiple sclerosis in mice show that this simple expectation is often wrong, and that a higher dose of the antigen MOG (Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein) can lead to a reduced response, presumably due to induction of regulatory components of the immune response. I will present experimental data that elucidates the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.