title: Reaction-diffusion models of development with state-dependent chemical diffusion coefficients.
abstract: Reaction-diffusion models are widely used to model developmental processes. The great majority of current models invoke constant diffusion coefficients. However, the diffusion of metabolites or signals through tissues is frequently such that this assumption may reasonably be questioned. We consider several different physical mechanisms leading to effective diffusion coefficients in biological tissues which vary with the local conditions, including models in which juxtacrine signaling results in the diffusion of a signal in the absence of material transport. We develop a mathematical formalism for transforming local transport laws into diffusive terms. This procedure is appropriate when the typical length scale over which the concentrations change significantly is much greater than the dimensions of a cell. We review previous developmental models which considered the possibility of state-dependent diffusion coefficients. We also provide a few new motivating examples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada.
authors.forename: Catharine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Roussel
authors.forename: Marc R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Roussel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers