Mechanistic Model of Natural Killer Cell Proliferative Response to IL-15 Receptor Stimulation
Figure 2
IL-15 concentration quantitatively influences the receptors, complexes and ligands on the surface and in endosomes of quiescent NK cells.
Simulations of intermediate affinity receptor binding on NK cells were performed using estimates of kinetic parameters derived from published studies. Solutions of differential equations were depicted in two columns, showing receptor, IL-15/IL-15R complex numbers, and ligand concentration at the cell surface (A, C, E), and in endosomes (B, D, F). The model solutions were obtained from simulations where IL-15 concentration serially doubled from 3.9 ng/ml to 2000 ng/ml, depicted by different lines. The arrow represents increasing IL-15 concentrations.