Modelling cross-reactivity and memory in the cellular adaptive immune   response to influenza infection in the host
  The cellular adaptive immune response plays a key role in resolving influenza infection. Experiments where individuals are successively infected with different strains within a short timeframe provide insight into the underlying viral dynamics and the role of a cross-reactive immune response in resolving an acute infection. We construct a mathematical model of within-host influenza viral dynamics including three possible factors which determine the strength of the cross-reactive cellular adaptive immune response: the initial naive T cell number, the avidity of the interaction between T cells and the epitopes presented by infected cells, and the epitope abundance per infected cell. Our model explains the experimentally observed shortening of a second infection when cross-reactivity is present, and shows that memory in the cellular adaptive immune response is necessary to protect against a second infection. 
Ada W. C. Yan, Pengxing Cao, Jane M. Heffernan, Jodie McVernon, Kylie   M. Quinn, Nicole L. La Gruta, Karen L. Laurie, James...
q-bio.PE q-bio.CB