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Mathematical Medicine and Biology Advance Access published online on December 21, 2005
Mathematical Medicine and Biology, doi:10.1093/imammb/dqi016
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© The author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. All rights reserved.
Received April 26, 2005
Revised September 12, 2005
Accepted November 17, 2005

Article

Mathematically modelling the effects of counting factor in Dictyostelium discoideum

John Dallon 1 *, Wonhee Jang 2, and Richard H. Gomer 2

1 Department of Mathematics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-6539, USA
2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute and, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
John Dallon, E-mail: dallon{at}math.byu.edu


  Abstract

Size regulation is a crucial feature in many biological systems, with misregulation leading to dysplasia or hyperplasia. The recent discovery of counting factor (CF) in Dictyostelium discoideum will lead to a greater understanding of how the system regulates the size of a group of cells. In this paper we mathematically model the known effects of CF using two different models: a cellular automata model and a discrete continuum hybrid model. With the use of these models we are able to understand how modulation of adhesion and motile forces by CF can facilitate stream breakup. In addition, the modelling suggests a new possible mechanism for stream breakup involving the frequency of cell reorientation.

Keywords: cellular adhesion; size regulation; cell movement; orientation; group size; cell-number counting.
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