This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplement All Versions of this Article: biophysj.107.124511v1 95/7/3146    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Milde, F. Articles by Koumoutsakos, P. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Milde, F. Articles by Koumoutsakos, P.

A Hybrid Model for Three-Dimensional Simulations of Sprouting Angiogenesis

Computational Science and Engineering Laboratory, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Petros Koumoutsakos, Tel.: 41-44-632-8728; E-mail: petros{at}ethz.ch.

Recent advances in cancer research have identified critical angiogenic signaling pathways and the influence of the extracellular matrix on endothelial cell migration. These findings provide us with insight into the process of angiogenesis that can facilitate the development of effective computational models of sprouting angiogenesis. In this work, we present the first three-dimensional model of sprouting angiogenesis that considers explicitly the effect of the extracellular matrix and of the soluble as well as matrix-bound growth factors on capillary growth. The computational model relies on a hybrid particle-mesh representation of the blood vessels and it introduces an implicit representation of the vasculature that can accommodate detailed descriptions of nutrient transport. Extensive parametric studies reveal the role of the extracellular matrix structure and the distribution of the different vascular endothelial growth factors isoforms on the dynamics and the morphology of the generated vascular networks.