A Cellular Automaton Model of the Effects of Maspin on Cell Migration

Abstract

Maspin (Mammary Serine Protease Inhibitor) is a non-inhibitory serpin with multiple cellular effects that is a type II tumour metastasis suppressor. Maspin has been shown to reduce cell migration, invasion, proliferation and angiogenesis, and increase apoptosis and adhesion. In this paper, we report the development of a mathematical model of the effects of maspin on cellular proliferation and migration. An artificial neural network has been used to model the unknown cell signalling to determine the cells fate. Results show that maspin reduces migration by between 10-35%; confirmed by published in vitro data. From our knowledge, this is the first attempt to model maspin effects in a computational model to verify in vitro data. This will provide new insights into to the tumour suppressive properties of maspin and inform the development of novel cancer therapy. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013.