Mathematical model of B lymphocyte replacement kinetics: its application to the recovery from tolerance in adult mice

In a previous paper a simple mathematical model was developed, describing the induction of B cell tolerance by direct inactivation of immunocompetent cells by antigen, and the escape from tolerance due to spontaneous differentiation of stem cells. The model was compared with experiments on newly hatched chickens whose reactivity with antigens increases with age, and this causes difficulties with the simple model. In this paper the model is compared with experiments on adult mice using sheep erythrocytes and human gamma globulin as antigens. The rates of elimination of these two antigens from circulation differ markedly, and the escape from tolerance in these experiments correlates with the rates of elimination. Our model, which is based on this fact, agrees reasonably well with experimental results.