Publications by authors named "Oleg U Kirnasovsky"
The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis states that only a small fraction of a malignant cell population is responsible for tumor growth and relapse. Understanding the relationships between CSC dynamics and cancer progression may contribute to improvements in cancer treatment. Analysis of a simple discrete mathematical model has suggested that homeostasis in developing tissues is governed by a "quorum sensing" control mechanism, in which stem cells differentiate or proliferate according to feedback they receive from neighboring cell populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Modulation of cellular signaling pathways can change the replication/differentiation balance in cancer stem cells (CSCs), thus affecting tumor growth and recurrence. Analysis of a simple, experimentally verified, mathematical model suggests that this balance is maintained by quorum sensing (QS).
Methodology/principal Findings: To explore the mechanism by which putative QS cellular signals in mammary stem cells (SCs) may regulate SC fate decisions, we developed a multi-scale mathematical model, integrating extra-cellular and intra-cellular signal transduction within the mammary tissue dynamics.
Background: The balance between self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells is expected to be tightly controlled in order to maintain tissue homeostasis throughout life, also in the face of environmental hazards. Theory, predicting that homeostasis is maintained by a negative feedback on stem cell proliferation, implies a Quorum Sensing mechanism in higher vertebrates.
Results: Application of this theory to a cellular automata model of stem cell development in disrupted environments shows a sharply dichotomous growth dynamics: maturation within 50-400 cell cycles, or immortalization.