A Mathematical model of radiation-induced responses in a cellular population including cell-to-cell communications

Hattori, Yuya; Suzuki, Michiyo; Funayama, Tomoo; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Yokoya, Akinari; Watanabe, Ritsuko

Cell-to-cell communication is one of the important factors to understand the mechanisms of radiation-induced responses such as radiation-induced bystander effects at low doses. In the present study, we propose simulation-based analyses of the intercellular signal transmissions between the individual cells in the cellular population. We developed the transmissions of two types of signals, i.e., X is transmitted via culture medium and Y is transmitted via gap junctions based on the diffusion equation. To observe the cell cycle as the response of cell induced by the signals, X and Y, we represented the cell cycle as a virtual clock including several check-point pathways and the cyclic process (G1, S, G2, M phases). The cellular population was divided into the grids (cells), and the signals and the clock were calculated for each grid. The signals, X, Y, were transmitted to the cells and stopped the clocks at the check points. Furthermore, the radiation was modeled as the radiation signal, Z, which affected the clock and the signals, X and Y. We input the radiation signal, Z, to specific cells, and simulated the behaviors of the clock of each cell and signals, X and Y. We will discuss the usefulness of our model for investigating the mechanisms of radiation-induced responses of the cell cycle via cell-to-cell communications.