A modeling framework for immune-related diseases

About twenty five years ago the first discrete mathematical model of the immune system was proposed. It was very simple and stylized. Later, many other computational models have been proposed each one adding a certain level of sophistication and detail to the description of the system. One of these, the Celada-Seiden model published back in 1992, was already mature at its birth, setting apart from the topic-specific nature of the other models. This one was not just a model but rather a framework with which one could implement his own immunological theories. Here we describe this computational framework, developed to perform simulations of different pathologies that are directly or indirectly connected to the immune system. We briefly describe the system first, then we report on few applications so to give the reader a clear idea of its practical utility in clinical research problems.