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SYBN: Biological and Social Networks
SYBN 3: Biologische und Soziale Netzwerke, Postersitzung
SYBN 3.16: Poster
Monday, March 7, 2005, 14:00–15:30, Poster TU E
Architecture of randomly evolving idiotypic networks — •Ulrich Behn1 and Markus Brede2 — 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Leipzig — 2CSIRO, Centre for Complex Systems Science, Canberra
B-Lymphocytes express on their surface receptors (antibodies) of a given specifity (idiotype). Crosslinking these receptors by complementary structures (antigen or antibody) stimulates the lymphocyte. Thus a large functional network of interacting lymphocytes, the idiotypic network, emerges. Idiotypic networks conceived by Niels Jerne 30 years ago, experience a renewed interest, e.g. in the context of idiotypic vaccination and of autoimmune deseases.
In a minimalistic model [1] idiotypes are represented by bitstrings. We investigate the random evolution of the network towards a modularized functional architecture which is driven by the influx of new idiotypes, randomly generated in the bone marrow. The modules are clearly distinguished, e.g., by the mean life time of the occupied vertices. They include densely connected core groups and peripheral groups of isolated vertices, resembling central and peripheral part of the biological network.
[1] M. Brede, U. Behn, Phys. Rev. E (67), 031920 (2003).