A 2D hybrid agent-based/continuum model for the regeneration of axolotl spinal cord

PEURICHARD DIANE; CHARA, OSVALDO; CALIARO VALERIA

Djursholm

Workshop; EWM-EMS Summer School on Multi-scale Modeling for Pattern Formation in Biological Systems; 2021

Institut Mittag-Leffler

Tissue response after amputation induces either scar formation or regenerationand, in particular, regeneration has been observed and described in axolotl. However, what are the mechanisms implicated in the regulation of regenerative processes and what is their role remains poorly understood. Our goal is to develop a numerical model for tissue regeneration and to use it to explore the main mechanisms influencing spinal cord regeneration in axolotl. In particular, we developed a 2D hybrid model where individual 2D spheres interact via mechanical repulsion with their close neighbours (agent-based model)and divide randomly with a division rate depending on a chemical signal diffusing through the tissue (continuous field). In this talk, first we will recapitulate some results obtained in previous works. Then, we will describe our model and validate it by recovering experimental results. Finally, we will numerically explore the behaviour of solutions as function of the parameters in order to identify the main mechanisms in tissue regeneration.