文章基本信息

标题：Can persistent Epstein–Barr virus infection induce chronic fatigue syndrome as a Pavlov reflex of the immune response?
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作者：Elena Agliari
期刊名称：Journal of Biological Dynamics
印刷版ISSN：1751-3758
电子版ISSN：1751-3766
出版年度：2012
卷号：6
期号：2
页码：740-762
DOI：10.1080/17513758.2012.704083
出版社：Taylor & Francis
摘要：Chronic fatigue syndrome is a protracted illness condition (lasting even years) appearing with strong flu symptoms and systemic defiances by the immune system. Here, by means of statistical mechanics techniques, we study the most widely accepted picture for its genesis, namely a persistent acute mononucleosis infection, and we show how such infection may drive the immune system towards an out-of-equilibrium metastable state displaying chronic activation of both humoral and cellular responses (a state of full inflammation without a direct ‘causes–effect’ reason). By exploiting a bridge with a neural scenario, we mirror killer lymphocytes T K and B cells to neurons and helper lymphocytes and to synapses, hence showing that the immune system may experience the Pavlov conditional reflex phenomenon: if the exposition to a stimulus (Epstein–Barr virus antigens) lasts for too long, strong internal correlations among B,T K and T H may develop ultimately resulting in a persistent activation even though the stimulus itself is removed. These outcomes are corroborated by several experimental findings.
关键词：immunology; statistical mechanics