A preliminary mathematical model of skin dendritic cell trafficking and induction of T cell immunity

Chronic inflammation is a process where dendritic cells (DCs) are constantly sampling antigen in the skin and migrating to lymph nodes where they induce the activation and proliferation of T cells. The T cells then travel back to the skin where they release cytokines that induce/maintain the inflammatory condition. This process is cyclic and ongoing. We created a differential equations model to reflect the initial stages of the inflammatory process. In particular, we modeled antigen stimulation of DCs in the skin, movement of DCs from the skin to a lymph node, and the subsequent activation of T cells in the lymph node. The model was able to simulate DC and T cell responses to antigen introduction taking place within realistic time scales. The goal of such a preliminary model is simply to be able to capture biologically realistic dynamics. Future models can then build on this preliminary model in directions that can potentially allow not only for model validation, but for predictions and hypothesis testing.

Title	A preliminary mathematical model of skin dendritic cell trafficking and induction of T cell immunity
Creator	Molinaro, A.
	Lin Erickson, A. H.
	Teboh-Ewungkem, Miranda
	Wise, A.
	Fleming, S.
	Lateef, Z.
	Baird, M.
	de Pillis, L.
Publisher	Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems Series B
Academic Department	Mathematics
Division	Natural Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	September 2009
Date Available	2011-02-04T01:21:40Z
Type	Article
Language	English
Bibliographic Citation	Lin Erickson, A., et. al. (2009) A preliminary mathematical model of skin dendritic cell trafficking and induction of T cell immunity. Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems Series B 12 (2): 323-336.
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.3934/dcdsb.2009.12.323
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/791
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/791
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	American Institute of Mathematical Sciences