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Seven Challenges in the Multiscale Modelling of Multicellular Tissues
Version 1
: Received: 2 July 2020 / Approved: 3 July 2020 / Online: 3 July 2020 (08:43:36 CEST)
How to cite: Fletcher, A.; Osborne, J. Seven Challenges in the Multiscale Modelling of Multicellular Tissues. Preprints 2020, 2020070022. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0022.v1 Fletcher, A.; Osborne, J. Seven Challenges in the Multiscale Modelling of Multicellular Tissues. Preprints 2020, 2020070022. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0022.v1
Abstract
The growth and dynamics of multicellular tissues involve tightly regulated and coordinated morphogenetic cell behaviours, such as shape changes, movement, and division, which are governed by subcellular machinery and involve coupling through short- and long-range signals. A key challenge in the fields of developmental biology, tissue engineering and regeneration is to understand how relationships between scales produce emergent tissue-scale behaviours. Recent advances in molecular biology, live-imaging and ex vivo techniques have revolutionised our ability to study these processes experimentally. To fully leverage these techniques and obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the causal relationships underlying tissue dynamics, computational modelling approaches are increasingly spanning multiple spatial and temporal scales, and are coupling cell shape, growth, mechanics and signalling. Yet such models remain technically challenging: modelling at each scale requires different areas of technical skills, while integration across scales necessitates the solution to novel mathematical and computational problems. This review aims to summarise recent progress in multiscale modelling of multicellular tissues and to highlight ongoing challenges associated with the construction, implementation, interrogation and validation of such models.
Keywords
Multiscale modelling; cell-based modelling; computational biology; multicellular systems biology
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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