Title
Flow-Based Cytometric Analysis of Cell Cycle via Simulated Cell Populations.
Abstract
We present a new approach to the handling and interrogating of large flow cytometry data where cell status and function can be described, at the population level, by global descriptors such as distribution mean or co-efficient of variation experimental data. Here we link the "real" data to initialise a computer simulation of the cell cycle that mimics the evolution of individual cells within a larger population and simulates the associated changes in fluorescence intensity of functional reporters. The model is based on stochastic formulations of cell cycle progression and cell division and uses evolutionary algorithms, allied to further experimental data sets, to optimise the system variables. At the population level, the in-silico cells provide the same statistical distributions of fluorescence as their real counterparts; in addition the model maintains information at the single cell level. The cell model is demonstrated in the analysis of cell cycle perturbation in human osteosarcoma tumour cells, using the topoisomerase II inhibitor, ICRF-193. The simulation gives a continuous temporal description of the pharmacodynamics between discrete experimental analysis points with a 24 hour interval; providing quantitative assessment of inter-mitotic time variation, drug interaction time constants and sub-population fractions within normal and polyploid cell cycles. Repeated simulations indicate a model accuracy of +/- 5%. The development of a simulated cell model, initialized and calibrated by reference to experimental data, provides an analysis tool in which biological knowledge can be obtained directly via interrogation of the in-silico cell population. It is envisaged that this approach to the study of cell biology by simulating a virtual cell population pertinent to the data available can be applied to "generic" cell-based outputs including experimental data from imaging platforms.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000741
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
Keywords
Field
DocType
cell biology,evolutionary algorithm,computer simulation,systems biology,cell cycle,experimental analysis,cell division,drug interaction,time constant,statistical distribution,flow cytometry
Cell division,Population,Experimental data,Evolutionary algorithm,Biology,Systems biology,Probability distribution,Cell,Bioinformatics,Cell cycle
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
6
4
1553-7358
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
1
0.63
4
Authors
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
M Rowan Brown160.97
Huw D Summers271.44
Paul Rees371.78
Paul J Smith4214.11
Sally C Chappell571.44
Rachel J Errington6122.53