The Interplay between Wnt Mediated Expansion and Negative Regulation of Growth Promotes Robust Intestinal Crypt Structure and Homeostasis
Fig 3
Role of BMP on niche homeostasis.
Panel A) Niche height as a function of different local Wnt production rates with BMP inhibition of proliferation considered. Mean and standard deviation of an ensemble of 10 simulations is presented. For the 400% production level, expansion continues in time until the niche completely overtakes the crypt. For the 100–300% cases, stability of crypt height has been verified with extended simulations. Panel B) Same as in (A) but with the global Wnt gradient removed. For low production rates, the niche is either completely lost or substantially smaller, but at higher rates (e.g. 200%), the niche height is only slightly impaired, indicating that at these levels the two Wnt sources can function redundantly. In all cases (in B), the niche heights at 5 days post removal represent steady state results.