Drawing Immunity Dynamics: Epitrochoid Patterns of Hormone-Modulated Responses

The story

Immune responses vary across individuals. This huge diversity can be measured and summarized to a few estimates that are visualized in aesthetically displeasing plots. One can also use more engaging representations like epitrochoids, which are  typically drawn with Spirographs. Here, we were interested in understanding how feminizing hormone treatment (estrogen) modulates the immune response. Rhesus macaques received estrogen or placebo treatment and serum proteins (~100) were measured before and after a vaccination. This immense variation was captured into a few estimates using dimensional reduction techniques, further used as parameters for generating epitrochoids. This approach turns complex data from PCA-based dimensional reduction into an art piece of the dynamic immune system.

Research area

Sex differences in the immune system through a systems immunology approach.

Impact

Though this interpretation of the immune system is simplified, epitrochoids are drawn with spirographs which are everyday toys for children and artistic adults. Being able to visualize the complex inflammatory status in this way is sufficient to call everyone’s attention and curiosity to the intricacy of immune responses.

Image description

Epitrochoids generated from serum protein data from rhesus macaques. Each epitrochoid represents the immune state of an individual animal at a particular time point, capturing the immune modulation effects of estrogen n=5 (warm colors) versus placebo n=7 (cool colors). Rows represent individual animals, and columns denote different timepoints, showing how immune states evolve across treatments.

Credits

Joan Escrivà Font