Population dynamics of immune responses to persistent viruses (Model 2)

Population dynamics of immune responses to persistent viruses

Model Status

This model has been built with the differential expressions in Nowak's 1996 paper for population dynamics of immune responses to persistent viruses and is known to run in PCEnv and COR. The units have been checked and they are consistent. This particular CellML model is the 2nd model out of the 3 outlined in the paper. Note that the figures in the paper display the logged varibale values, and also certain parameters are unspecified and are left for the modeller to decide. Current parameterization portrays the interaction of uninfected cells x, infected cells y, free virus particles v, and CTL response z (model 2).

Model Structure

Abstract: Mathematical models, which are based on a firm understanding of biological interactions, can provide nonintuitive insights into the dynamics of host responses to infectious agents and can suggest new avenues for experimentation. Here, a simple mathematical approach is developed to explore the relation between antiviral immune responses, virus load, and virus diversity. The model results are compared to data on cytotoxic T cell responses and viral diversity in infections with the human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV-1) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1).

Population dynamics of immune responses to persistent viruses, Nowak, MA and Bangham, CR, 1996, Science, 272, 74-79 PubMed ID: 8600540

Schematic diagram of a model for virus-CTL interaction.