A Discrete/Continuous Model of Anti-HIV Response and Therapy

We present an immune system simulator based on a hybrid discrete/continuous approach. In particular, simulated lymphocytes, antigens and immunocomplexes are treated as stochastic discrete entities whereas interleukins, chemokines and in general small signalling molecules are described as continuous variables ruled by differential equations. The version of the model we present here is customized to reproduce the immune response to HIV and the effects of an anti-retroviral therapy. Our goal is to suggest new therapeutic strategies that can be tested in a computer.