Abstract
BackgroundThe efficiency of lymph nodes depends on tissue structure and organization, which allow the coordination of lymphocyte traffic. Despite their essential role, our understanding of lymph node specific mechanisms is still incomplete and currently a topic of intense research.ResultsIn this paper, we present a hybrid discrete/continuous model of the lymph node, accounting for differences in cell velocity and chemotactic response, influenced by the spatial compartmentalization of the lymph node and the regulation of cells migration, encounter, and antigen presentation during the inflammation process.ConclusionOur model reproduces the correct timing of an immune response, including the observed time delay between duplication of T helper cells and duplication of B cells in response to antigen exposure. Furthermore, we investigate the consequences of the absence of dendritic cells at different times during infection, and the dependence of system dynamics on the regulation of lymphocyte exit from lymph nodes. In both cases, the model predicts the emergence of an impaired immune response, i.e., the response is significantly reduced in magnitude. Dendritic cell removal is also shown to delay the response time with respect to normal conditions.
Highlights
The efficiency of lymph nodes depends on tissue structure and organization, which allow the coordination of lymphocyte traffic
Once an Antigen (Ag) is captured by Ag-processing cells, it is rapidly carried to the nearest lymph node, where it is presented to specific lymphocytes to trigger an immune response
The population reaches a constant value, and the corresponding density agrees with the expected values, given the simulated volume i.e., ~2·105 T helper cells (TH) cells, 105 B cells and 103 dendritic cells (DC) [5,31]
Summary
The efficiency of lymph nodes depends on tissue structure and organization, which allow the coordination of lymphocyte traffic. Despite their essential role, our understanding of lymph node specific mechanisms is still incomplete and currently a topic of intense research. Lymph nodes and Peyer's patches play key roles in the development of an appropriate and efficient immune response. Once an Antigen (Ag) is captured by Ag-processing cells, it is rapidly carried to the nearest lymph node, where it is presented to specific lymphocytes to trigger an immune response. The specific architecture of the lymph node and a fine-tuned balance between diffusion, chemotaxis, and receptor expression are the basis of this process. The cortex can be further divided into an inner part, the paracortex ( called the T cell area), rich in T lymphocytes and an outer area, the node cortex that includes the B cell area consisting of follicles and germinal centers, where B cells are acti-
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