Mix and Match: Phenotypic Coexistence as a Key Facilitator of Cancer Invasion.

Mix and Match: Phenotypic Coexistence as a Key Facilitator of Cancer Invasion. Bull Math Biol. 2020 Jan 17;82(1):15 Authors: Strobl MAR, Krause AL, Damaghi M, Gillies R, Anderson ARA, Maini PK Abstract Invasion of healthy tissue is a defining feature of malignant tumours. Traditionally, invasion is thought to be driven by cells that have acquired all the necessary traits to overcome the range of biological and physical defences employed by the body. However, in light of the ever-increasing evidence for geno- and phenotypic intra-tumour heterogeneity, an alternative hypothesis presents itself: could invasion be driven by a collection of cells with distinct traits that together facilitate the invasion process? In this paper, we use a mathematical model to assess the feasibility of this hypothesis in the context of acid-mediated invasion. We assume tumour expansion is obstructed by stroma which inhibits growth and extra-cellular matrix (ECM) which blocks cancer cell movement. Further, we assume that there are two types of cancer cells: (i) a glycolytic phenotype which produces acid that kills stromal cells and (ii) a matrix-degrading phenotype that locally remodels the ECM. We extend the Gatenby-Gawlinski reaction-diffusion model to derive a system of five coupled reaction-diffusion equations to describe the resulting invasion process. We characterise the spatially homogeneous steady states and carry out a simulation study in one spatia...
Source: Bulletin of Mathematical Biology - Category: Bioinformatics Authors: Tags: Bull Math Biol Source Type: research