Agent-based modeling and bifurcation analysis reveal mechanisms of macrophage polarization and phenotype pattern distribution.

ABSTRACT: Macrophages play a key role in tissue regeneration by polarizing to different destinies and generating various phenotypes. Recognizing the underlying mechanisms is critical in designing therapeutic procedures targeting macrophage fate determination. Here, to investigate the macrophage polarization, a nonlinear mathematical model is proposed in which the effect of IL4, IFNγ and LPS, as external stimuli, on STAT1, STAT6, and NFκB is studied using bifurcation analysis. The existence of saddle-node bifurcations in these internal key regulators allows different combinations of steady state levels which are attributable to different fates. Therefore, we propose dynamic bifurcation as a crucial built-in mechanism of macrophage polarization. Next, in order to investigate the polarization of a popu

SUBMITTER: Nickaeen N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6726649 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature