A three-dimensional dynamic simulation model of epithelial tissue renewal

OBJECTIVE: Based on the study of existing simulation and mathematical models, a dynamic simulation and three-dimensional (3-D) visualization model of the normal and pathologic architecture of the nasal epithelium is proposed. STUDY DESIGN: Positions, sizes, shapes and orientations of the nuclei, basal lamina and lumen were used for 3-D representation of the epithelium. Static modeling wits applied to simulate the normal, metaplastic and dysplastic stages of the nasal epithelium. Then, dynamic modeling, starting from a static representation of a normal or a pathologic stage, used the starting values of cell proliferation parameters to simulate a tissue growth process. The basic hypothesis is that consecutive tranformations through stages are mainly due to increased cell growth. RESULTS: Normal tissue renewal and progressive transitions between normality and hyperplasia after exposure to formaldehyde were obtained. CONCLUSION: A model that allows study of the evolution of the 3-D tissue architecture during the preneoplastic process in external epithelium is now available. Improvement of the model, consisting of adding information concerning cell communication, extracellular matrix and cell cycle modeling, should help to formulate and sharpen hypotheses concerning structural and kinetic dynamics of this tissue during the preneoplastic process.