Cytokine memory in T lymphocytes and mathematical models of transcriptional control

Helper T lymphocytes control the immune reponse by secreting specific cytokines. To analyse the molecular mechanisms that determine which cytokine pattern is expressed in naive T cells and subsequently memorized in differentiated Th1 and Th2 cells, we have developed mathematical models of the processing of antigenic stimulation by phosphorylation cascades and of the transcriptional control mechanisms determining cytokine memory. The model results are discussed in relation to experimental data.