Immune network theory

The immune network theory is a theory of how the adaptive immune system works, that has been developed since 1974 mainly by Niels Jerne[1] and Geoffrey W. Hoffmann.[2][3] The theory states that the immune system is an interacting network of lymphocytes and molecules that have variable (V) regions. These V regions bind not only to things that are foreign to the vertebrate, but also to other V regions within the system. The immune system is therefore seen as a network, with the components connected to each other by V-V interactions.

It has been suggested that the phenomena that the theory describes in terms of networks are also explained by clonal selection theory.[4][5]

The scope of the symmetrical network theory developed by Hoffmann includes the phenomena of low dose and high dose tolerance, first reported for a single antigen by Avrion Mitchison,[6] and confirmed by Geoffrey Shellam and Sir Gustav Nossal,[7] the helper[8] and suppressor roles [9] of T cells, the role of non-specific accessory cells in immune responses,[10] and the very important phenomenon called I-J. Jerne was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology in 1984 partly for his work towards the clonal selection theory, as well as his proposal of the immune network concept.[11]

The immune network theory has also inspired a subfield of optimization algorithms similar to artificial neural networks.[12]

  1. ^ N. K. Jerne (1974) Towards a network theory of the immune system. Ann. Immunol. (Inst. Pasteur), 125C, 373-389
  2. ^ Hoffmann G. W. (1975). "A network theory of the immune system". Eur. J. Immunol. 5 (638–647): 638–47. doi:10.1002/eji.1830050912. PMID 11993326. S2CID 39404470.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hoffmannINT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Varela FJ, Coutinho A (May 1991). "Second generation immune networks". Immunology Today. 12 (5): 159–66. doi:10.1016/S0167-5699(05)80046-5. PMID 1878127.
  5. ^ Coutinho A (July 1995). "The network theory: 21 years later". Scand. J. Immunol. 42 (1): 3–8. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3083.1995.tb03619.x. PMID 7631141. S2CID 272411.
  6. ^ N. A. Mitchison (1964) Induction of immunological paralysis in two zones of dosage. Proc. Royal Soc. Lond. B161, 275-292
  7. ^ Shellam G. R.; Nossal G. J. V. (1968). "The mechanism of induction of immunological paralysis. IV. The effects of ultra-low doses of flagellin". Immunology. 14 (2): 273–284. PMC 1409291. PMID 5640947.
  8. ^ H. N. Claman; E. A. Chaperon; Triplett R. F. (1966). "Immunocompetence of transferred thymus-marrow cell combinations". J. Immunol. 97 (6): 828–832. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.97.6.828. PMID 5333748. S2CID 8169656.
  9. ^ Tada T, Takemori T (1974). "Selective roles of thymus-derived lymphocytes in the antibody response. I. Differential suppressive effect of carrier-primed T cells on hapten-specific IgM and IgG antibody responses". J. Exp. Med. 140 (1): 239–52. doi:10.1084/jem.140.1.239. PMC 2139696. PMID 4134784.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference evans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1984
  12. ^ e.g. Campelo F, Guimarães FG, Igarashi H, Ramírez JA, Noguchi S (2006). "A Modified Immune Network Algorithm for Multimodal Electromagnetic Problems". IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. 42 (4): 1111–1114. Bibcode:2006ITM....42.1111C. doi:10.1109/TMAG.2006.871633. hdl:2115/8519. ISSN 0018-9464. S2CID 13913704.