Researchers from Carlos III of Madrid and the University of Complutense have numerically simulated the progression of one layer of cells on another, which is present in tumor invasion and metastasis. In addition to cancer research, the model can also be used to promote wound healing and tissue and organ regeneration.
A study published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology By researchers from the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) And the Complutense University of Madrid (Federation) Propose one Mathematical description This helps to understand and visualize tumor It will invade epithelial cells and automatically quantify its evolutionary process and the remaining cell islands after evolution.
The model developed by the team can be used to better understand the biological properties of cells for developing new therapies. wound healing, This Tissue and organ regenerationAnd is evolving cancer.
This study analyzes the collective movement of the cell layer, which is essential for the development of pathology, such as Tumor invasion and metastasis, For example, plays a key role in physiological processes such as healing, embryonic development or tissue reconstruction.
In order to clarify the complexity of these processes, some previous studies have conducted various experiments to try to understand the role of certain chemical, mechanical and biological factors.
What the author does now is to combine Mathematical modeling, numerical simulation and topological data analysis Use simulations and experiments to understand how one layer of cells (such as cancer cells) invade another layer of cells (such as cells formed from healthy cells).
The co-author and mathematician explained: “The simplification of the early stages of cancer metastasis is that tumor cells move in groups in healthy tissues and replace a group of normal cells.” Luis Bonilla with Terrenado, Carolina From UC3M and Ana Carpio UCM.
“By selecting the appropriate cell group and using software They pointed out that it is appropriate that we have successfully simulated the invasion of cancer cells in healthy tissues.To perform this simulation, they obtained data from previous experiments and used the so-called Voronoi diagram (Its name should be attributed to the Russian mathematician Georgy Voronoi) to make irregular subdivisions (a collection of small blocks or tesserae), where the cells are polygons that do not overlap and leave no spaces between them.
In this model, the center of the cell is affected by forces from different sources: some maintain subdivision and optimize area and circumference, while others are inertial forces of biological origin, and there is a main force for adjusting cell speed. Except for friction and noise.
Topological data analysis
In order to automatically track the evolution of the barrier or boundary between cancer cells and normal cells, the researchers used topological data analysis technology, which was used for the first time in this type of research.
“Starting from a series of continuous images of experiments and numerical simulations, Topological changes Scientists say that as cancer cells develop, they will automatically move around the interface.
The technology developed within the framework of this work can be Scale to large amounts of data If these studies are carried out on a large scale, in addition to their possible applications in tissue bioengineering, it is also possible to analyze how the biophysical properties of different materials affect the regeneration of tissues and organs.
reference:
Bonilla LL, Carpio A and TrenadoC. “Tracking collective cell movement through topological data analysis.” PLoS Computer Biology2020 year
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