Incomplete penetrance: The role of stochasticity in developmental cell colonization

Abstract

Cell colonization during embryonic development involves cells migrating and proliferating over growing tissues. Unsuccessful colonization, resulting from genetic causes, can result in various birth defects. However not all individuals with the same mutation show the disease. This is termed incomplete penetrance, and it even extends to discordancy in monozygotic (identical) twins. A one-dimensional agent-based model of cell migration and proliferation within a growing tissue is presented, where the position of every cell is recorded at any time. We develop a new model that approximates this agent-based process - rather than requiring the precise configuration of cells within the tissue, the n..