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SUMMARY:Diversity\, tolerance\, and maturation of the adaptive immune resp
 onse - Mehran Kardar (MIT)
DTSTART:20231109T140000Z
DTEND:20231109T150000Z
UID:TALK205291@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Bo Peng
DESCRIPTION:The adaptive immune system protects the body from the ever-cha
 nging landscape of foreign microorganisms. The two arms of the adaptive im
 mune system\, T cells and B cells\, mount specific responses to pathogens 
 by utilizing the diversity of their receptors\, generated through hypermut
 ation.  B cells generate antibodies that strongly bind and inactivate anti
 gens (toxic targets). Potent antibodies are generated through the process 
 of “Affinity Maturation" which is akin to evolution at a rapid pace. T c
 ells recognize and clear infected hosts when their highly variable recepto
 rs bind sufficiently strongly to complexes formed with antigen-derived pep
 tides displayed on the cell surface. To avoid auto-immune responses\, a pr
 ocess of "Thymic Selection" ensures that only self-tolerant receptors (bin
 ding weakly to self peptides) are engaged. Methods from Statistical Physic
 s can be used to model and elucidate these processes\, as will be demonstr
 ated through several examples.
LOCATION: Small Lecture Theatre\, Cavendish Laboratory\, J.J. Thomson Aven
 ue
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