Examining the Pathogenesis of Breast Cancer Using a Novel Agent-Based Model of Mammary Ductal Epithelium Dynamics
Figure 5
Demonstration of the DEABM to reproduce expected patterns of luminal cell growth in response to estrogen and progesterone within a menstrual cycle.
Panel A depicts the output of the DEABM in terms of differentiated luminal cell population during the course of a single menstrual cycle period. The individual runs (n = 5) are depicted in light grey dashed plots and demonstrate the inter-run variance expected from the stochastic nature of the DEABM. The average of these runs is seen in the solid black line, and reproduces the expected increase in luminal cell mass seen during the luteal phase. The general trajectory of the DEABM seen in Panel A is noted to be similar to reference data sets present in the literature, as seen in Panel B (reproduced with under the Creative Commons License from Ref [42]) and Panel C (reproduced with permission from Ref [43]); both of which depict the degree of luminal cell proliferation during various phases of the menstrual cycle. Note in particular the wide variance in the sample points present in the reference data sets, which represent multiple samples obtained from multiple individuals.