A stochastic model for immune response with mutations and evolution: the non-spatial setting

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Grejo, Carolina, Lopes, Fabio, Machado, Fábio, Roldán-Correa, Alejandro
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866915764958658560
author Grejo, Carolina
Lopes, Fabio
Machado, Fábio
Roldán-Correa, Alejandro
author_facet Grejo, Carolina
Lopes, Fabio
Machado, Fábio
Roldán-Correa, Alejandro
contents We consider a stochastic model for a pathogen population in the presence of an immune response, in which pathogen types are partially ordered by ancestry and the immune system must eliminate ancestor types before it can eliminate their descendants. In this model, pathogens reproduce independently at rate $λ>0$ and, at each birth, a mutation occurs with probability $r\in(0,1]$, producing a novel type that is antigenically distinct and whose elimination by the immune system is delayed relative to its ancestors. We provide an explicit characterization of the survival--extinction phase transition and compute the expected total progeny in the subcritical regime. We then extend the model by allowing mutations to be deleterious: conditional on mutation, with probability $p\in(0,1]$ the mutation is beneficial and with probability $1-p$ it is deleterious, producing a sterile offspring. For this extension, we obtain an explicit survival criterion in terms of $(λ,r,p)$ and identify parameter regimes in which survival is possible only for an intermediate range of mutation probabilities, reflecting the balance between immune escape and mutational load.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_17950
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A stochastic model for immune response with mutations and evolution: the non-spatial setting
Grejo, Carolina
Lopes, Fabio
Machado, Fábio
Roldán-Correa, Alejandro
Probability
60J80, 60J85, 92D15, 92D25
We consider a stochastic model for a pathogen population in the presence of an immune response, in which pathogen types are partially ordered by ancestry and the immune system must eliminate ancestor types before it can eliminate their descendants. In this model, pathogens reproduce independently at rate $λ>0$ and, at each birth, a mutation occurs with probability $r\in(0,1]$, producing a novel type that is antigenically distinct and whose elimination by the immune system is delayed relative to its ancestors. We provide an explicit characterization of the survival--extinction phase transition and compute the expected total progeny in the subcritical regime. We then extend the model by allowing mutations to be deleterious: conditional on mutation, with probability $p\in(0,1]$ the mutation is beneficial and with probability $1-p$ it is deleterious, producing a sterile offspring. For this extension, we obtain an explicit survival criterion in terms of $(λ,r,p)$ and identify parameter regimes in which survival is possible only for an intermediate range of mutation probabilities, reflecting the balance between immune escape and mutational load.
title A stochastic model for immune response with mutations and evolution: the non-spatial setting
topic Probability
60J80, 60J85, 92D15, 92D25
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.17950