Computational models of airway branching morphogenesis.

Publication Year
2017

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

The bronchial network of the mammalian lung consists of millions of dichotomous branches arranged in a highly complex, space-filling tree. Recent computational models of branching morphogenesis in the lung have helped uncover the biological mechanisms that construct this ramified architecture. In this review, we focus on three different theoretical approaches - geometric modeling, reaction-diffusion modeling, and continuum mechanical modeling - and discuss how, taken together, these models have identified the geometric principles necessary to build an efficient bronchial network, as well as the patterning mechanisms that specify airway geometry in the developing embryo. We emphasize models that are integrated with biological experiments and suggest how recent progress in computational modeling has advanced our understanding of airway branching morphogenesis.

Journal
Semin Cell Dev Biol
Volume
67
Pages
170-176
Date Published
2017 Jul
ISSN Number
1096-3634
Alternate Journal
Semin Cell Dev Biol
PMCID
PMC5136345
PMID
27269374