Random Energy Model for the B Cell Immune Response and the Original Antigenic Sin

The adaptive immune system defends our body against infection and provides the specific protective immunity that prevents reinfection. Antigen-specific lymphocytes, B cells and T cells, recognize and eliminate any foreign antigens and then generate a great number of memory lymphocytes which allow a more rapid and effective response upon reinfection. We propose a random energy model for the B cell immune response and expound the original antigenic sin of B cells, which is a term describing immune interference due to antigenic change. We present the simulation results of the random energy model under various parameters. This work has applications to understanding vaccination against continually mutating viruses.