Computational analysis of the effects of matrix-degrading enzymes on cancer-cell invasion

초록

Cancer cells secrete matrix degrading enzymes (MDEs) and invade the extracellular matrix (ECM) that is degraded by MDEs. This paper presents a dynamic model that incorporates multiple components and mechanisms to investigate the invasion process of cancer cells. The degradation of ECM by MDEs secreted by cancer cells and the consequent influence on cancer-cell invasion are systematically investigated. The morphology and velocity of cancer cells are analytically characterized by critical factors with the developed model, which are the secreting rate of MDEs, the natural degrading rate of MDEs, and the degrading rate of ECM. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental observations and suggest a substantial potential of the presented model for computational cancer research. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4772534]

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