Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. More information here...
1: Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Aug 8;91(6):068101. Epub 2003 Aug 7.
Related Articles, Links
Click here to read Click here to read
Erratum in:
  • Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Nov 28;91(22):229902.

Sequence space localization in the immune system response to vaccination and disease.

Deem MW, Lee HY.

Department of Bioengineering and Department of Physics & Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005-1892, USA. mwdeem@rice.edu

We introduce a model of protein evolution to explain limitations in the immune system response to vaccination and disease. The phenomenon of original antigenic sin, wherein vaccination creates memory sequences that can increase susceptibility to future exposures to the same disease, is explained as stemming from localization of the immune system response in antibody sequence space. This localization is a result of the roughness in sequence space of the evolved antibody affinity constant for antigen and is observed for diseases with high year-to-year mutation rates, such as influenza.

Publication Types:
PMID: 12935112 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]