A computational model for populations of dividing cells.
A mathematical model of the cell movements due to cell division is presented. In the model we assume that every cell is a computational object with a given volume, and that the cell pushes the neighbouring cells in order to acquire the space for this volume. The Force that each cell exerts over the other cells is derived from a harmonic arbitrary Potential. The main parameter of the model is the average distance among the cells, that checks if the system is in spatial equilibrium or not. We show that just changing the physical constraints we can model two different systems, a two-dimensional culture on a plate and a three-dimensional early embryo. In both cases the patterns of the cell populations we obtain are similar to the real ones.
Mersi
Giuseppe
G
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli studi di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze.
Buiatti
Marcello
M
D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008954:Models, Biological