Biomedical subjects

Tiina Roose

Publications and source records attributed to Tiina Roose.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Diffusivity and distribution of vinblastine in three-dimensional tumour tissue: experimental and mathematical modelling.

The distribution of chemotherapeutics in solid tumours is poorly understood and the contribution it makes to treatment failure is unknown. Novel approaches are required to understand how the three-dimensional organisation of cancer cells in solid tumours affects drug availability. Since convective drug transport is limited by increased interstitial pressure in poorly vascularised cancers, the aim of this study was to measure the diffusive hindrance exerted by solid tumour tissue. Multicell layer tumour models comprising DLD1 colon cancer cells were characterised and fluxes were determined for [3H]-vinblastine and [14C]-sucrose. The mathematical models provided the diffusion coefficients for both compounds and predicted higher exposure of cells in the vicinity of vessels. The diffusion of vinblastine was three times slower than that of sucrose. Although slow diffusion delays vinblastine penetration into the avascular regions of tumours, the proliferating cells are generally in the marginal area of tumours. The mathematical model that we have developed enabled accurate quantification of drug pharmacokinetic behaviour, in particular, the diffusivity of vinblastine within solid tissue. This mathematical model may be adapted readily to incorporate the influence of factors mediating pharmacokinetic drug resistance.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

PubMed2006

Modelling the contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to plant phosphate uptake.

In this paper, we investigate the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant phosphorus nutrition. We develop a mathematical model which quantitatively assesses the contribution of external fungal hyphae to plant phosphate uptake. We derive an equation for solute uptake by a growing fungal mycelium which we couple with a model for root uptake. We analyse the model using nondimensionalization and numerical simulations. Simulations predict that removal of phosphate from soil is dominated by hyphal uptake as opposed to root uptake. Model analysis shows that the depletion zones around hyphae overlap within 8 h and that the transfer between fungus and root is a critical step for the behaviour of phosphorus within the mycelial phase. We also show that the volume fraction of mycelium is negligibly small in comparison to other soil phases. This is the first model to quantify the contribution of mycorrhizal fungi to plant phosphate uptake. A full data set for model parametrization and validation is not currently available. Therefore, more complete sets of experimental measurements are necessary to make this model more applicable.

Hyphae↗

PubMed2003

Solid stress generated by spheroid growth estimated using a linear poroelasticity model.

The unchecked growth of a solid tumor produces solid stress, causing deformation of the surrounding tissue. This stress can result in clinical complications, especially in confined environments such as the brain, and may also be responsible for pathophysiological anomalies such as the collapse of blood and lymphatic vessels. High stress levels may also inhibit further cell division within tumors. Unfortunately, little is known about the dynamics of stress accumulation in tumors or its effects on cell biology. We present a mathematical model for tumor growth in a confined, elastic environment such as living tissue. The model, developed from theories of thermal expansion using the current configuration of the material element, allows the stresses within the growing tumor and the surrounding medium to be calculated. The experimental observation that confining environments limit the growth of tumor spheroids to less than the limit imposed by nutrient diffusion is incorporated into the model using a stress dependent rate for tumor growth. The model is validated against experiments for MU89 tumor spheroid growth in Type VII agarose gel. Using the mathematical model and the experimental evidence we show that the tumor cell size is reduced by solid stress inside the tumor spheroid. This leads to the interesting possibility that cell size could be a direct indicator of solid stress level inside the tumors in clinical setting.

Animals↗