TY - JOUR T1 - MDCK Cystogenesis Driven by Cell Stabilization within Computational Analogues A1 - Engelberg, Jesse A. A1 - Datta, Anirban A1 - Mostov, Keith E. A1 - Hunt, C. Anthony Y1 - 2011/04/07 N2 - Author Summary Epithelial cells perform essential functions throughout the body, acting as both barrier and transporter and allowing an organism to survive and thrive in varied environments. Although the details of many processes that occur within individual cells are well understood, we still lack a thorough understanding of how cells coordinate their behaviors to create complex tissues. In order to achieve deeper insight, we created a list of targeted attributes and plausible rules for the growth of multicellular cysts formed by Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells grown in vitro. We then designed in silico analogues of MDCK cystogenesis using object-oriented programming. In silico components (such as the cells and lumens) and their behaviors directly mapped to in vitro components and mechanisms. We conducted in vitro experiments to generate data that would validate or falsify the in silico analogues and then iteratively refined the analogues to mimic that data. Cells in vitro begin to stabilize at around the fifth day even as cysts continue to expand. The in silico system mirrored that behavior and others, achieving new insights. For example, luminal cell death is not strictly required for cystogenesis, and cell division orientation is very important for normal cyst growth. JF - PLOS Computational Biology JA - PLOS Computational Biology VL - 7 IS - 4 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002030 SP - e1002030 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002030 ER -