Abstract

The skin barrier is provided by the organized multi-layer structure of epidermal cells, which is dynamically maintained by a continuous supply of cells from the basal layer. The epidermal homeostasis can be disrupted by various skin diseases, which often cause morphological changes not only in the epidermis but in the dermis. We present a three-dimensional agent-based computational model of the epidermis that takes into account the deformability of the dermis. Our model can produce a stable epidermal structure with well-organized layers. We show that its stability depends on the cell supply rate from the basal layer. Modeling the morphological change of the dermis also enables us to investigate how the stiffness of the dermis affects the structure and barrier functions of the epidermis. Besides, we show that our model can simulate the formation of a corn (clavus) by assuming hyperproliferation and rapid differentiation. We also provide experimental data for human corn, which supports the model assumptions and the simulation result.

Details

Title
A computational model of the epidermis with the deformable dermis and its application to skin diseases
Author
Ohno Kota 1 ; Kobayashi Yasuaki 2 ; Uesaka Masaaki 3 ; Gotoda Takeshi 4 ; Denda Mitsuhiro 5 ; Kosumi Hideyuki 6 ; Watanabe, Mika 6 ; Natsuga Ken 6 ; Nagayama Masaharu 2 

 Chuo University, Department of Data Science for Business Innovation, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.443595.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2323 0843) 
 Hokkaido University, Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Sapporo, Japan (GRID:grid.39158.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2173 7691) 
 The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2151 536X) 
 Nagoya University, Graduate School of Mathematics, Nagoya, Japan (GRID:grid.27476.30) (ISNI:0000 0001 0943 978X) 
 Shiseido Global Innovation Center, Yokohama, Japan (GRID:grid.27476.30) 
 Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Sapporo, Japan (GRID:grid.39158.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2173 7691) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2544678898
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.