Affinity Maturation

Antibody maturation occurs takes place in Germinal Centers formed in lymph nodes:

Computational Model:

The processes of (hyper)mutation/competition/selection lead to rapid Population Evolution:

Fitness f  governs reproduction rates according to                 

Population mean  is defined by                                          

Mean fitness evolves as                                                     

Roland Fisher's Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection

Affinity ω  is a trait correlated with fitness, and (including possibility of mutations) evolves as

George Price's Equation:                                                

To use the  equations in Affinity Maturation, we need to describe the dependence of fitness on affinity.

Next (Fitness) Outline Introduction Affinity Maturation Fitness & Evolution Optimal density Broadly neutralizing Abs EMF dynamics Summary