On the Coupling of Two Models of the Human Immune Response to an Antigen

Abstract

The development of mathematical models of the immune response allows a better understanding of the multifaceted mechanisms of the defense system. The main purpose of this work is to present a scheme for coupling distinct models of different scales and aspects of the immune system. As an example, we propose a new model where the local tissue inflammation processes are simulated with partial differential equations (PDEs) whereas a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is used as a model for the systemic response. The simulation of distinct scenarios allows the analysis of the dynamics of various immune cells in the presence of an antigen. Preliminary results of this approach with a sensitivity analysis of the coupled model are shown but further validation is still required.