Development of the T-cell repertoire: Clone size distribution

Abstract

The development and maintenance of the T lymphocyte repertoire, which determines which antigens will elicit an immune response, involve a complicated learning pro­cess involving internal interactions and external (environmen­tal) factors. The dynamics are not unlike that of thousands of nearly identical competing species. This paper examines the distribution of clone (species) populations, how it is created and how it is maintained. © 1993 Rocky Mountain Mathematics Consortium.