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In this work, we develop a model of the immune response to respiratory viral infections taking into account some particular properties of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The model represents a system of ordinary differential equations for the concentrations of epithelial cells, immune cells, virus and inflammatory cytokines. Conventional analysis of the existence and stability of stationary points is completed by numerical simulations in order to study dynamics of solutions. Behavior of solutions is characterized by large peaks of virus concentration specific for acute respiratory viral infections.

At the first stage, we study the innate immune response based on the protective properties of interferon secreted by virus-infected cells. On the other hand, viral infection down-regulates interferon production. Their competition can lead to the bistability of the system with different regimes of infection progression with high or low intensity. In the case of infection outbreak, the incubation period and the maximal viral load depend on the initial viral load and the parameters of the immune response. In particular, increase of the initial viral load leads to shorter incubation period and higher maximal viral load.

In order to study the emergence and dynamics of cytokine storm, we consider proinflammatory cytokines produced by cells of the innate immune response. Depending on parameters of the model, the system can remain in the normal inflammatory state specific for viral infections or, due to positive feedback between inflammation and immune cells, pass to cytokine storm characterized by excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, inflammatory cell death can stimulate transition to cytokine storm. However, it cannot sustain it by itself without the innate immune response. Assumptions of the model and obtained results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental and clinical data.

The development of a viral infection in the organism is a complex process which depends on the competition race between virus replication in the host cells and the immune response. To study different regimes of infection progression, we analyze the general mathematical model of immune response to viral infection. The model consists of two ODEs for virus and immune cells non-dimensionalized concentrations. The proliferation rate of immune cells in the model is represented by a bell-shaped function of the virus concentration. This function increases for small virus concentrations describing the antigen-stimulated clonal expansion of immune cells, and decreases for sufficiently high virus concentrations describing down-regulation of immune cells proliferation by the infection. Depending on the virus virulence, strength of the immune response, and the initial viral load, the model predicts several scenarios: (a) infection can be completely eliminated, (b) it can remain at a low level while the concentration of immune cells is high; (c) immune cells can be essentially exhausted, or (d) completely exhausted, which is accompanied (c, d) by high virus concentration. The analysis of the model shows that virus concentration can oscillate as it gradually converges to its equilibrium value. We show that the considered model can be obtained by the reduction of a more general model with an additional equation for the total viral load provided that this equation is fast. In the case of slow kinetics of the total viral load, this more general model should be used.

Our purpose is to study the spatio-temporal population wave behavior observed in the predator-prey system. It is assumed that predators move both directionally and randomly, and prey spread only diffusely. The model does not take into account demographic processes in the predator population; it’s total number is constant and is a parameter. The variables of the model are the prey and predator densities and the predator speed, which are connected by a system of three reaction – diffusion – advection equations. The system is considered on an annular range, that is the periodic conditions are set at the boundaries of the interval. We have studied the bifurcations of wave modes arising in the system when two parameters are changed — the total number of predators and their taxis acceleration coefficient.

The main research method is a numerical analysis. The spatial approximation of the problem in partial derivatives is performed by the finite difference method. Integration of the obtained system of ordinary differential equations in time is carried out by the Runge –Kutta method. The construction of the Poincare map, calculation of Lyapunov exponents, and Fourier analysis are used for a qualitative analysis of dynamic regimes.

It is shown that, population waves can arise as a result of existence of directional movement of predators. The population dynamics in the system changes qualitatively as the total predator number increases. А stationary homogeneous regime is stable at low value of parameter, then it is replaced by self-oscillations in the form of traveling waves. The waveform becomes more complicated as the bifurcation parameter increases; its complexity occurs due to an increase in the number of temporal vibrational modes. A large taxis acceleration coefficient leads to the possibility of a transition from multi-frequency to chaotic and hyperchaotic population waves. A stationary regime without preys becomes stable with a large number of predators.