title: Kinetic Monte Carlo and cellular particle dynamics simulations of multicellular systems.
abstract: Computer modeling of multicellular systems has been a valuable tool for interpreting and guiding in vitro experiments relevant to embryonic morphogenesis, tumor growth, angiogenesis and, lately, structure formation following the printing of cell aggregates as bioink particles. Here we formulate two computer simulation methods: (1) a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) and (2) a cellular particle dynamics (CPD) method, which are capable of describing and predicting the shape evolution in time of three-dimensional multicellular systems during their biomechanical relaxation. Our work is motivated by the need of developing quantitative methods for optimizing postprinting structure formation in bioprinting-assisted tissue engineering. The KMC and CPD model parameters are determined and calibrated by using an original computational-theoretical-experimental framework applied to the fusion of two spherical cell aggregates. The two methods are used to predict the (1) formation of a toroidal structure through fusion of spherical aggregates and (2) cell sorting within an aggregate formed by two types of cells with different adhesivities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Elijah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flenner
authors.forename: Lorant
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janosi
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barz
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neagu
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forgacs
authors.forename: Ioan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kosztin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*