eprintid: 1320
rev_number: 12
eprint_status: archive
userid: 6
dir: disk0/00/00/13/20
datestamp: 2012-07-20 09:51:02
lastmod: 2012-07-23 13:40:35
status_changed: 2012-07-20 09:51:02
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Agliari, Elena
creators_name: Barra, Adriano
creators_name: Vidal Gervasi, Kristian
creators_name: Guerra, Francesco
creators_id: 
creators_id: 
creators_id: kristian.gervasi@imtlucca.it
creators_id: 
title: Can persistent Epstein–Barr virus infection induce chronic fatigue syndrome as a Pavlov reflex of the immune response?
ispublished: pub
subjects: HA
subjects: QC
subjects: QH301
subjects: R1
divisions: EIC
full_text_status: public
keywords: immunology, statistical mechanics
abstract:  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  etastable 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 TK 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,TK and TH may develop ultimately resulting in a persistent activation even though the stimulus itself is removed. These outcomes are corroborated by several experimental findings. 
date: 2012-03
date_type: published
publication: Journal of Biological Dynamics
volume: 6
number: 2
publisher: Taylor & Francis
pagerange: 740-762
id_number: 10.1080/17513758.2012.704083
refereed: TRUE
issn: 1751-3758
official_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17513758.2012.704083
citation:   Agliari, Elena and Barra, Adriano and Vidal Gervasi, Kristian and Guerra, Francesco  Can persistent Epstein–Barr virus infection induce chronic fatigue syndrome as a Pavlov reflex of the immune response?  Journal of Biological Dynamics, 6 (2).  pp. 740-762.  ISSN 1751-3758      (2012)  
document_url: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/1320/1/Journal_of_biological_dynamics_Gervasi_2012.pdf