Evolution at the Edge of Chaos: A Paradigm for the Maturation of the Humoral Immune Response

We study the maturation of the antibody population following primary antigen presentation as a global optimization problem. Emphasis is placed on the trade-off between the safety of mutations that lead to local improvements to the antibody's affinity and the necessity of eventual mutations that result in global reconfigurations in the antibody's shape. The model described herein gives evidence of the underlying optimization process from which the rapidity and consistency of the biologic response could be derived.