TITLE: “Heterogeneity in cell states: Is it important whether cell states are heritable or change rapidly?”
ABSTRACT: Cells of the same cell type show molecular and phenotypic heterogeneity. Is the particular cell state of a given cell heritable from one generation to the next? Previous work in liver cancer cells indicates that the molecular network that controls cell death may change within hours, but the data from B-cells shows that their cell state is durable and heritable. In this project, I address this question by formulating a model of B-cell-mediated antibody responses. This model recapitulates the Darwinian selection process to produce high affinity antibodies against an antigen. I then test how heterogeneity in the cell states affects the antibody repertoire, and then what the effect of heritability of those cell states might be. The preliminary results from model simulation will be presented and discussed.
