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Mathematical Model for Two Germline Stem Cells Competing for Niche Occupancy

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Abstract

In the Drosophila germline stem cell ovary niche, two stem cells compete with each other for niche occupancy to maintain stem cell quality by ensuring that differentiated stem cells are rapidly pushed out the niche and replenished by normal ones (Jin et al. in Cell Stem Cell 2:39–49, 2008). To gain a deeper understanding of this biological phenomenon, we have derived a mathematical model for explaining the physical interactions between two stem cells. The model is a system of two nonlinear first order and one second order differential equations coupled with E-cadherins expression levels. The model can explain the dynamics of the competition process of two germline stem cells and may help to reveal missing information obtained from experimental results. The model predicts several qualitative features in the competition process, which may help to design rational experiments for a better understanding of the stem cell competition process.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank P. Maini, S. Bakshi, Y. Kuang, B.-L. Li, J. Shi, and J. Wang for comments, the members in Xie’s laboratory for stimulating discussions, the Stowers Institute facilities for services, and Caitlin Flournoy for editorial and administrative assistance. We would also like to thank the reviewers’ suggestions which help to improve our manuscript. This work is partially supported by the start-up grant to J.P. Tian and a grant from the NIH (1R01 GM64428-01) to T. Xie.

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Correspondence to Jianjun Paul Tian.

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Tian, J.P., Jin, Z. & Xie, T. Mathematical Model for Two Germline Stem Cells Competing for Niche Occupancy. Bull Math Biol 74, 1207–1225 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-011-9713-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-011-9713-x

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