Proportional Danger Theory: Energy Availability, Stress Physiology, and Immune Function Within the EPK Framework

Polly Matzinger’s Danger Theory shifted immunological thinking away from a simple self versus non-self model toward contextual signals of tissue damage and danger. Proportional Danger Theory extends this idea by proposing that the magnitude and resilience of immune responses are constrained by the energetic and physiological capacity of the organism. The theory integrates EPK, immunometabolism, stress physiology and aging.

This is Paper 7 in the EPK (Energy Per Kilogram) series and builds on the foundational Paper 1: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22673106. It is a conceptual, hypothesis-generating working paper and has not been peer reviewed.