A Virtual Look at Epstein–Barr Virus Infection: Biological Interpretations
Figure 6
Comparing Simulation Output, Employing the Default Parameter Set, to What Is Known or Expected from a Real Infection
(A) Varying the initial infectious dose of Vir has no effect on persistent levels of latently infected virtual B cells (BLat). The initial infectious dose is the average number of Vir deposited at each mesh point (node) on the surface of the virtual lymphoepithelium. The simulation was run as described in Figure 4A, except the initial infectious dose of Vir was varied from 0.1 to 10 as shown (the default level is 0.7). Since there are 16,205 surface mesh points, this translates into a total infectious dose ranging from 1.6 × 103 to 1.6 × 105.
(B) Epithelial cell amplification has no effect on persistent levels of latently infected virtual B cells (BLat). Epithelial cell amplification of Vir was simulated by adding an additional amount of Vir at each time step. The virtual amplification achieved varied from none to 2 × 104.
(C) Persistence is highly sensitive to the rate of Vir reactivation. The simulation was run as described in Figure 4A, except the percentage of latently infected virtual B cells (BLat) that initiate Vir replication upon return to the Waldeyer ring was varied as shown (the default percentage is 0.05% based on data from [16]).