Abstract
Accumulating evidence indicates that the interaction between epithelial
and mesenchymal cells plays a pivotal role in cancer development and
metastasis formation. Here we propose an integro-differential model for the
co-culture dynamics of epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like cells. Our model
takes into account the effects of chemotaxis, adhesive interactions between
epithelial-like cells, proliferation and competition for nutrients. We present a
sample of numerical results which display the emergence of spots, stripes and
honeycomb patterns, depending on parameters and initial data. These simulations also suggest that epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like cells can segregate when there is little competition for nutrients. Furthermore, our computational results provide a possible explanation for how the concerted action between epithelial-cell adhesion and mesenchymal-cell spreading can precipitate the formation of ring-like structures, which resemble the fibrous capsules frequently observed in hepatic tumours.
and mesenchymal cells plays a pivotal role in cancer development and
metastasis formation. Here we propose an integro-differential model for the
co-culture dynamics of epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like cells. Our model
takes into account the effects of chemotaxis, adhesive interactions between
epithelial-like cells, proliferation and competition for nutrients. We present a
sample of numerical results which display the emergence of spots, stripes and
honeycomb patterns, depending on parameters and initial data. These simulations also suggest that epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like cells can segregate when there is little competition for nutrients. Furthermore, our computational results provide a possible explanation for how the concerted action between epithelial-cell adhesion and mesenchymal-cell spreading can precipitate the formation of ring-like structures, which resemble the fibrous capsules frequently observed in hepatic tumours.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 79-93 |
| Journal | Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 1 Oct 2016 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2017 |
Keywords
- Mathematical modelling
- Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions
- Pattern formation
- Segregation patterns
- Ring patterns
Access to Document
- Delitala_2016_EmergenceSpatial_MBE_AAM
This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.aimsciences.org / https://dx.doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2017006