Modelling effects of internalized antibody: a simple comparative study

BACKGROUND: The modelling framework is proposed to study protection properties of antibodies to neutralize the effects of the plant toxin (ricin). The present study extends our previous work by including (i) the model of intracellular transport of toxin to the Endoplasmic Reticulum and (ii) the model of the internalised antibodies (when antibody is delivered directly into the cytosol). METHOD: Simulation of the receptor-toxin-antibody interaction is implemented by solving the systems of PDEs (advection-diffusion models) or ODEs (rate models) for the underlying transport coupled with mass-action kinetics. RESULTS: As the main application of the enhanced framework we present a comparative study of two kinds (external and internalised) of antibodies. This comparison is based on calculation of the non-dimensional protection factor using the same set of parameters (geometry, binding constants, initial concentrations of species, and total initial amount of the antibody). CONCLUSION: This research will provide a framework for consistent evaluation and comparison of different types of antibodies for toxicological applications.