  Germinal centres are anatomically defined lymphoid organ structures that
mediate B cell affinity maturation and affect the quality of humoral immune
responses. Mathematical models based on differential equations or agent-based
simulations have been widely used to deepen our understanding of the cellular
and molecular processes characterizing these complex dynamic systems. Along
with experimental studies, these tools have provided insights into the
spatio-temporal behavior of B cells in germinal center reactions and the
mechanisms underlying their clonal selection and cellular differentiation. More
recently, mathematical models have been used to define key parameters that
influence the quality of humoral vaccine responses such as vaccine composition
and vaccination schedule. Here, we review current mathematical and
computational models of the GC response, highlight interesting model features
and discuss how they helped to improve our understanding of B cell responses
specifically in immunization settings.
