Title: Agent-based model of macrophage action on endocrine pancreas

Authors: Ignacio V. Martínez; Enrique J. Gómez; M. Elena Hernando; Ricardo Villares; Mario Mellado

Addresses: Grupo de Bioingeniería y Telemedicina, Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina CIBER-BBN ' Grupo de Bioingeniería y Telemedicina, Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina CIBER-BBN ' Grupo de Bioingeniería y Telemedicina, Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina CIBER-BBN ' Departamento de Inmunología y Oncología, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología/CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, Lab 416, 28049 Madrid, Spain ' Departamento de Inmunología y Oncología, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología/CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, Lab 416, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Abstract: This paper proposes an agent-based model of the action of macrophages on the beta cells of the endocrine pancreas. The aim of this model is to simulate the processes of beta cell proliferation and apoptosis and also the process of phagocytosis of cell debris by macrophages, all of which are related to the onset of the autoimmune response in type 1 diabetes. We have used data from the scientific literature to design the model. The results show that the model obtains good approximations to real processes and could be used to shed light on some open questions concerning such processes.

Keywords: type 1 diabetes; endocrine pancreas; agent-based modelling; simulation; bioinformatics; autoimmune response; autoimmunity innate immune system; beta cells; macrophage action; phagocytosis; agent-based systems; multi-agent systems; beta cell proliferation; apoptosis; phagocytosis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDMB.2012.049293

International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics, 2012 Vol.6 No.4, pp.355 - 368

Published online: 17 Dec 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article