PhD Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2179:385-413. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0779-4_28.
The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the corresponding reverse process, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), are dynamic and reversible cellular programs orchestrated by many changes at both biochemical and morphological levels. A recent surge in identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying EMT/MET has led to the development of various mathematical models that have contributed to our improved understanding of dynamics at single-cell and population levels: (a) multi-stability-how many phenotypes can cells attain during an EMT/MET?, (b) reversibility/irreversibility-what time and/or concentration of an EMT inducer marks the "tipping point" when cells induced to undergo EMT cannot revert?, (c) symmetry in EMT/MET-do cells take the same path when reverting as they took during the induction of EMT?, and (d) non-cell autonomous mechanisms-how does a cell undergoing EMT alter the tendency of its neighbors to undergo EMT? These dynamical traits may facilitate a heterogenous response within a cell population undergoing EMT/MET. Here, we present a few examples of designing different mathematical models that can contribute to decoding EMT/MET dynamics.
上皮-间充质转化 (EMT) 和相应的逆向过程，间充质-上皮转化 (MET)，是由生化和形态水平的许多变化协调的动态和可逆的细胞程序。最近，在确定 EMT/MET 背后的分子机制方面取得了很大进展，这导致了各种数学模型的发展，这些模型有助于我们更好地理解单细胞和群体水平的动力学：(a) 多稳定性-在 EMT/MET 过程中，细胞可以获得多少种表型？(b) 可逆性/不可逆性-细胞诱导 EMT 时，需要多少 EMT 诱导剂的时间和/或浓度才能达到“临界点”，此时细胞不能逆转？(c) EMT/MET 中的对称性-细胞在逆转时是否会沿着与诱导 EMT 时相同的路径前进？(d) 非细胞自主机制-正在经历 EMT 的细胞如何改变其邻居经历 EMT 的倾向？这些动态特征可能有助于 EMT/MET 过程中细胞群体的异质反应。在这里，我们介绍了一些设计不同数学模型的例子，这些模型可以有助于解码 EMT/MET 动力学。
