Aging and Adaptation in Infectious Diseases II/Session II: Immune System: Aging and Heterogeneity
April 30, 2019
1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- Chair
Jean Carlson (UCSB)
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- Presenter
- Katie Gostic (UCLA)
Abstract
Immune imprinting to the influenza viruses encountered in childhood strongly shapes lifelong risk. These findings raise questions about the expansion of antibody repertoires over time. Does the first influenza exposure, or the first few, have the greatest influence on lifelong immunological trajectories? Why have older cohorts evidently failed to develop strong memory against strains that emerged later in in their lifetimes? What are the costs and benefits of childhood imprinting for effective protection later in adulthood?
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- Presenter
- Sarah Cobey (Univ. Chicago)
- Phil Arevalo (Univ. Chicago)
- Marcos Viera (Univ. Chicago)
Abstract
Antigenic mapping is an important technique used measure and visualize differences between viruses, but understanding how these maps change given immune system variation between individuals remains challenging. Do the immune systems of different individuals see the same virus differently? How does this perspective change as individuals age and experience different sets of viruses in different orders? We briefly touch on some approaches we've taken to answer these questions and suggest how exposure history might affect both individual immune responses and epidemiological patterns.
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Post-meeting Reflection
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- Presenter
- Micaela Martinez (Columbia Univ.)
Abstract
I will be summarizing, and thematically integrating, two areas of research presented at the first SFI working group meeting. First, I will discuss the arrow of time, from birth to death, as seen through the lens of the immune system: from the development of the infant immune system through immunosenescence and the end of life. Second, I will review the internalization of time via two mechanisms: biological clocks and the "jamming" of immunological memory. Lastly, I will propose a conceptual framework for integrating these themes as spiral trajectories of endogenous immunity and vulnerability.
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- Presenter
- Mercedes Pascual (Univ. Chicago)
- Qixin He (Univ. Chicago)
Abstract
In several important pathogens, high prevalence occurs under widespread but incomplete immunity. This is the case for Plasmodium falciparum in highly-endemic regions of Africa, where asymptomatic infection occurs in individuals of all ages despite repeated infection. This large reservoir of infection constitutes the main challenge for elimination efforts and is enabled not only by the existing antigenic diversity of the pathogen, but also by the constant turnover of new variants. With an agent-based model of malaria and some analytical considerations, we present a novel threshold in transmission intensity that concerns the ability of the pathogen to diversify locally. We discuss how this aspect of the complex eco-evolutionary dynamics of transmission can be exploited for intervention efforts. We raise the open question of whether traditional epidemiological models that incorporate host age can be extended to capture this threshold.
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