High Epitope Expression Levels Increase Competition between T Cells
Author Information
Author(s): Scherer Almut, Salathé Marcel, Bonhoeffer Sebastian
Primary Institution: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
Hypothesis
Under what conditions do T cells specific for different epitopes of a pathogen compete with each other?
Conclusion
The study finds that T cells compete for access to antigen-presenting cells when epitopes are expressed abundantly, while competition is for specific epitopes when expression is low.
Supporting Evidence
- The model predicts that at low epitope expression levels, T cells do not compete with each other.
- At high epitope expression levels, competition for access to antigen-presenting cells leads to competitive exclusion.
- Understanding T cell coexistence has implications for immune therapies requiring broad immune responses.
Takeaway
When there are lots of a certain kind of protein on cells, T cells fight for space to attach to them. But when there are fewer proteins, T cells can work together better.
Methodology
An individual-based computer simulation model was developed to study T cell competition based on epitope expression levels.
Limitations
The model assumes equal epitope expression levels and does not account for variability in epitope expression between antigen-presenting cells.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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