基于顶点动力学模型的果蝇胚胎背部闭合过程模拟

VERTEX DYNAMICS MODEL OF DORSAL CLOSURE IN DROSOPHILA EMBRYOGENESIS

要顶点动力学模型是一种基于能量和力的数学模型,广泛应用于对生物体在细胞层次上的分裂、迁移、死亡与变形等重要生物学过程的模拟,对理解生物学现象及其背后的机理具有重要的帮助目前的顶点动力学模型集中于对单一细胞群体进行模拟,然而在真实的生物学过程中,往往是多个组织、多种细胞共同参与.例如模式生物黑腹果蝇胚胎发育过程中的背部闭合过程,此过程是由扁平鳞状细胞构成的羊浆膜组织和柱状上皮细胞构成的表皮组织协同完成的.文章利用顶点动力学模型对上述两种细胞群体进行模拟,并使用真实影像生成模型的输入数据,成功模拟出果蝇胚胎背部闭合过程,模拟结果接近实验观察数据.该模型的构建对进一步理解果蝇胚胎背部闭合以及相关形态发生的生物物理机制提供了新的研究角度.

Vertex dynamics model is a mathematical model based on energy and forces,which is widely used to simulate biological processes such as cell division,cell migration,cell death and cell shape change during morphogenesis.The application of vertex dynamics model plays an important role in contribution to the understanding of biological phenomena and their underlying mechanisms.Curent vertex dynamics models focus on the simulation of a tissue composed of a single type of cells.However,multiple type of tissues and cells are often involved in real biological processes.For example,the dorsal closure process during embryonic development of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster,which is accomplished by the collaboration of amnioserosa tissues consisting of flat squamous cells and epidermal tissues consisting of columnar epithelial cells.In this paper,the dorsal closure process of Drosophila embryos is successfully simulated by a vertex dynamics model,in which the above two types of cells are included,and the input data is generated by using real time-lapse images.The simulation result is very close to the experimental observation data.The construction of this model provides a new research perspective to further understand the biophysical mechanism of dorsal closure in Drosophila embryos and other related morphogenesis processes.