Theory 18/Immune response/Termination phase
Contraction Follows Antigen Loss
The claim
The response contracts when the ratio of antigen to survival signal falls below a threshold, so contraction is a consequence of success.
01Mechanism
Survival factors depend on antigen; without it, cells die on schedule.
02Prediction
Contraction timing should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Contraction tracking time since activation would remove antigen.