On the modelling of genetic mutations and immune system competition
This paper deals with the modelling of genetic mutations, which occur in almost all cells of a living system. The mutated cells display different stages of cancer progression and are contrasted by the action of the immune system cells. This investigation can be of interest in the evolutionary dynamics of cellular systems since the selective pressure on the mutated cells exerted by the immune system is analyzed. The proposed mathematical model is developed by means of the tools of the kinetic theory of active particles. Numerical simulations, obtained considering different values of the parameters in the model, show different emerging behaviors that are typical of the cancer-immune system competition. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
immune system living systems kinetic theory biology nonlinearity