Paper Info
Title
The Influence of Nutrients Diffusion on a Metabolism-driven Model of a Multi-cellular System.
Abstract
The metabolic processes related to the synthesis of the molecules needed for a new round of cell division underlie the complex behaviour of cell populations in multi-cellular systems, such as tissues and organs, whereas their deregulation can lead to pathological states, such as cancer. Even within genetically homogeneous populations, complex dynamics, such as population oscillations or the emergence of specific metabolic and/or proliferative patterns, may arise, and this aspect is highly amplified in systems characterized by extreme heterogeneity. To investigate the conditions and mechanisms that link metabolic processes to cell population dynamics, we here employ a previously introduced multi-scale model of multi-cellular system, named FBCA (Flux Balance Analysis with Cellular Automata), which couples biomass accumulation, simulated via Flux Balance Analysis of a metabolic network, with the simulation of population and spatial dynamics via Cellular Potts Models. In this work, we investigate the influence that different modes of nutrients diffusion within the system may have on the emerging behaviour of cell populations. In our model, metabolic communication among cells is allowed by letting secreted metabolites to diffuse over the lattice, in addition to diffusion of nutrients from given sources. The inclusion of the diffusion processes in the model proved its effectiveness in characterizing plausible biological scenarios.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.3233/FI-2020-1883
FUNDAMENTA INFORMATICAE
Keywords
Field
DocType
Multi-scale modeling,Cellular Potts Model,Flux Balance Analysis,Diffusion,Cancer development
Discrete mathematics,Biological system,Mathematics,Nutrient
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
171
SP1-4
0169-2968
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
0
Authors
10
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Davide Maspero172.25
chiara damiani272.98
M. Antoniotti3967.36
Alex Graudenzi49017.99
Marzia Di Filippo5133.89
Marco Vanoni6768.30
Giulio Caravagna715616.46
Riccardo Colombo8314.89
Daniele Ramazzotti93610.54
Dario Pescini1027425.92