A Cellular Automata Model of Early T Cell Recognition

T cells are key components of the immune system, recognizing the presence of foreign antigens by coming in direct contact with specialized antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and scanning the array of surface molecules presented by the APC. During the first 60 seconds of contact, thousands of molecules on both cell surfaces interact. Based on these interactions the T cell makes a first crucial decision to either sustain contact, eventually leading to activation, or to disengage and move on. This paper presents a Cellular Automata model to study how a T cell integrates a varied array of positive and negative signals into its first activation decision. Our simulations use available biological data and support the notion that complex behaviors, such as the signal processing function of a cell, can emerge from the varied local interactions of many cellular receptors.