Chalmers Conferences, 9th European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology

The role of VEGF-C and CCR7/CCL21 in Tumor Lymphangiogenesis.
GEORGIOS LOLAS

Last modified: 2014-06-09

Abstract


Tumor survival, growth and dissemination are associated with the formation of both new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and new lymph vessels (lymphangiogenesis). Despite the longstanding recognition of the presence of the lymphatic system in several clinical studies, experimental demonstration of its role in lymphedema, lymphangiogenesis or tumor cell metastasis was until recently hindered by the lack of unique markers for the lymphatic vessels. In the current work we present an in silico model for lymphangiogenesis in tumor. The modeling focuses on key events associated with the migratory response of lymphatic endothelial cells to auto- and tumor secreted growth factors. Using parameter values based on experimental data we present numerical results, which demonstrate the process of tumor lymphangiogenesis based on VEGF-C secretion and its correlation with peritumoral and intratumoral lymphatic presence and penetration. Furthermore, we present a 3D multi-cell simulation as a generic simplification of tumour lymphovascular invasion through the activation of CCR7/CCL21 axis in order to provide a glimpse of what may be a more active role of chemokines in lymphovascular invasion.


Keywords


lymphangiogenesis