A 3D self-organizing multicellular epidermis model of barrier formation and hydration with realistic cell morphology based on EPISIM.

ABSTRACT: The epidermis and the stratum corneum (SC) as its outermost layer have evolved to protect the body from evaporative water loss to the environment. To morphologically represent the extremely flattened cells of the SC - and thereby the epidermal barrier - in a multicellular computational model, we developed a 3D biomechanical model (BM) based on ellipsoid cell shapes. We integrated the BM in the multicellular modelling and simulation platform EPISIM. We created a cell behavioural model (CBM) with EPISIM encompassing regulatory feedback loops between the epidermal barrier, water loss to the environment, and water and calcium flow within the tissue. This CBM allows a small number of stem cells to initiate self-organizing epidermal stratification, yielding the spontaneous emergence of water and

SUBMITTER: Sutterlin T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5338006 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature