Over time, our immune system is programmed, reprogrammed, and modified. It begins at birth and continues to develop as we grow older, frequently in ways we don’t like. It deteriorates, we develop malignancies, and our immune system fails to keep up.

In a new study published today, scientists say that scientists say if we create a digital twin of the human immune system it could enable doctors to deliver treatments precisely designed for the individual.

A digital twin of the immune system would be a big step forward that could help treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections like COVID-19 with precision medicine.

“This is an effort that will require the collaboration of computational biologists, immunologists, clinicians, mathematicians and computer scientists,” said Tomas Helikar, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln biochemist. “Trying to break down this complexity down into measurable and achievable steps has been a challenge. This paper is addressing that.”

Helikar’s involvement is motivated in part by his 7-year-old son, who needed a lung transplant as a baby. This has necessitated a lifelong careful balance of his immune system with potent immunosuppressive medicines to prevent organ rejection while also preventing infections and other disorders.

While creating a general model that mimics common biological functions is the initial stage, the ultimate goal is to develop virtual models at the individual level. This would allow doctors to provide treatments that are specifically tailored to the patient.

“The dream and goal are for it to be used for precision medicine at the level of an individual,” Helikar added.

“Importantly, we change over time. Our immune system is programmed, reprogrammed and tweaked over time. It develops from birth and as we get older, it continues developing, often in ways we don’t like.

“It becomes weaker, we have cancers and our immune system is not keeping up.  Our goal is to create digital twins that are not just specific to ourselves, but specific to that point in time – taking into consideration all of our past.”

“Digital twins, customized simulation models pioneered in industry, are beginning to be deployed in medicine and healthcare, with some major successes in cardiovascular diagnostics and in insulin pump control,” the article says. “More advanced medical digital twins will be essential to making precision medicine a reality. Because the immune system plays an important role in such a wide range of diseases and health conditions, from fighting pathogens to autoimmune disorders, digital twins of the immune system will have especially high impact.”

While the quest could take years and hundreds of millions of dollars, Hellikar believes it is achievable.

“I think we have enough data and technological advancements in terms of methods and software tools, that the first draft or first version of the virtual immune system could be built with data that already exists. It may not be personalizable yet, but you could start with it as a working prototype.”

Helikar is committed to completing the project.

“As long as there’s a possibility that this can be done, if it can help my son, that’s my mission,” he said.

Image Credit: Getty

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