Il prossimo incontro di \Piz^2@TV(+IAC) si terrà il 9 dicembre, alle ore 13, presso il Dipartimento di Matematica di Roma Tor Vergata, aula "Dal Passo", e sarà animato da Arnaud Chauvière (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston).
Titolo: Cell migration in a fibrous environment: mesoscopic and macroscopic modelings
Abstract: Cell migration is an essential feature of both normal and pathological biological phenomena including embryonic morphogenesis, wound healing and tumor invasion.
In a first part, I will focus on the influence of the surrounding tissue (in particular, the extracellular matrix) that provides a natural complex scaffold for cells (tumor cells, fibroblasts, etc.) to adhere to during motion, and affects cell movement via a phenomenon called contact guidance. I will describe cell migration at the mesoscopic level as a velocity-jump process including contact guidance. I will also consider the migratory response of cells to external stimuli (taxis) such as chemicals attracting the cells. In both cases I will present the corresponding macroscopic models obtained through the diffusive limit of the mesoscopic description.
In a second part, I will present how the modeling approach previously used can be applied to integrate other specific mechanisms of importance. I will present a Go-or-Rest model that includes resting phases that, for example, could be used by cells to undergo mitosis. I will show that the model provides anomalous diffusion. In particular, sub- and super-diffusion regimes can be obtained and are governed by a parameter describing intrinsic migratory properties of cells. I will show how such a model can mimic adhesion processes when compared to in vitro data.
