Submitted on June 12, 2006
Accepted on September 3, 2006
Interaction of epithelium with mesenchyme affects global features of lung architecture: A computer model of development
Seth Tebockhorst1, DongYoub Lee1*, Anthony S. Wexler2, and Michael J. Oldham3
1 Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California, United States
2 Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, California, 95616, United States; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , University of California, Davis, California, United States; Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, California, United States
3 Community and Environmental Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dolee{at}ucdavis.edu.
Lung airway morphogenesis is simulated in a simplified diffusing environment that simulates the mesenchyme to explore the role of morphogens in airway architecture development. Simple rules govern local branching morphogenesis. Morphogen gradients are modeled by four pairs of sources and their diffusion through the mesenchyme. Sensitivity to lobar architecture and mesenchymal morphogen are explored. Even if the model accurately represents observed patterns of local development, it could not produce realistic global patterns of lung architecture if interaction with its environment was not taken into account, implying that reciprocal interaction between airway growth and morphogens in the mesenchyme plays a critical role in producing realistic global features of lung architecture.
