A computational model of the epidermis with the deformable dermis and its application to skin diseases

The skin barrier is provided by the organized multi-layer structure of epidermal cells, which is dynamically maintained by a continuous supply of cells from the basal layer. The epidermal homeostasis can be disrupted by various skin diseases, which often cause morphological changes not only in the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2021-06, Vol.11 (1), p.13234-13234, Article 13234
Main Authors: Ohno, Kota, Kobayashi, Yasuaki, Uesaka, Masaaki, Gotoda, Takeshi, Denda, Mitsuhiro, Kosumi, Hideyuki, Watanabe, Mika, Natsuga, Ken, Nagayama, Masaharu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/114/2397
639/705/1041
692/699/4033
Computer applications
Computer Simulation
Corn
Deformability
Dermis
Dermis - pathology
Epidermis
Epidermis - pathology
Homeostasis
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Morphology
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Skin diseases
Skin Diseases - pathology
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Summary:The skin barrier is provided by the organized multi-layer structure of epidermal cells, which is dynamically maintained by a continuous supply of cells from the basal layer. The epidermal homeostasis can be disrupted by various skin diseases, which often cause morphological changes not only in the epidermis but in the dermis. We present a three-dimensional agent-based computational model of the epidermis that takes into account the deformability of the dermis. Our model can produce a stable epidermal structure with well-organized layers. We show that its stability depends on the cell supply rate from the basal layer. Modeling the morphological change of the dermis also enables us to investigate how the stiffness of the dermis affects the structure and barrier functions of the epidermis. Besides, we show that our model can simulate the formation of a corn (clavus) by assuming hyperproliferation and rapid differentiation. We also provide experimental data for human corn, which supports the model assumptions and the simulation result.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-92540-1