The paper
S. Hoehme et al., “Prediction and validation of cell alignment along microvessels as order principle to restore tissue architecture in liver regeneration,” PNAS, 107:10371-76, 2010. Free F1000 Evaluation
The finding
Dirk Drasdo at INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt and colleagues have been trying for a number of years to turn experimental information into mathematical models that help explain how cells form functional tissue. Now they have used high-resolution images and three-dimensional reconstruction to generate an accurate 3-D computational model of liver regeneration, uncovering a previously unknown mechanism in the process.
The puzzle Starting with mouse livers treated with carbon tetrachloride (which models acetaminophen damage), Drasdo’s team built computational models of how liver lobules regenerate after damage. Their early models, which factored in increased cell proliferation and direction of cell migration, failed to describe how cells colonized and repaired damaged areas. On a hunch, they programmed dividing hepatocytes to line up along ...
