Effect of Red Blood Cell Dynamics on Endothelial Cell Behaviour in Angiogenesis

血管生成是指从现有血管中生成血管。在人的一生中，血管生成的发生是为了确保体内组织有足够的氧气和营养物质通过血管输送。血管生成在组织发育、伤口愈合和某些疾病（如某些形式的癌症）中起着重要作用。内皮细胞形成血管的内表面，血管生成是由内皮细胞的行为和迁移决定的。因此，有必要了解内皮细胞对环境的反应。众所周知，内皮细胞受到某些化学和机械信号的影响。例如，血管中的血流速率影响内皮细胞迁移和参与血管生成的倾向。然而，作为血液的主要组成部分，红细胞与内皮细胞相互作用的作用尚不清楚。在这个项目中，将开发数学和计算模型来模拟流动的红细胞和内皮细胞之间的相互作用。第一步是在红细胞存在的情况下建立基于药物的血管生成模型。一个计算模型的血管生成与解决红细胞和内皮细胞将开发。这两种模型都将允许研究红细胞动力学对健康和疾病中内皮细胞行为的影响。这个项目可能会提高我们对健康和疾病中血管生成的理解，可能会为某些涉及血管生成的疾病（包括癌症）带来新的治疗方法。该项目还可能导致更好的诊断，例如，确定一个给定的病人目前是否正在经历某种形式的血管生成，这可能预示着疾病。项目风险被共同工作了10年的管理团队（克鲁格博士和伯纳乌教授）的技能和经验所降低。

Angiogenesis is the generation of blood vessels from existing ones. Throughout a person's life, angiogenesis occurs to ensure tissues in the body have a sufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients transported through blood vessels. Angiogenesis plays an important role in tissue development, wound healing and some diseases, such as certain forms of cancer. Endothelial cells form the inner surface of blood vessels, and angiogenesis is determined by the behaviour and migration of endothelial cells. Thus, it is essential to understand the response of endothelial cells to their environment. It is known that endothelial cells are influenced by certain chemical and mechanical signals. For example, the flow rate of blood in a vessel affects the tendency of endothelial cells to migrate and participate in angiogenesis. However, the role of red blood cells, a major component of blood, interacting with the endothelial cells remains unknown.In this project, mathematical and computational models will be developed to simulate the interaction between the flowing red blood cells and the endothelial cells. The first step is the development of an agent-based model of angiogenesis in the presence of red blood cells. A computational model of angiogenesis with resolved red blood cells and endothelial cells will then be developed. Both models will allow the investigation of the effect of red blood cell dynamics on the behaviour of endothelial cells in health and disease.This project might improve our understanding of angiogenesis in health and disease, potentially leading to new therapeutic approaches in certain diseases that involve angiogenesis, including cancer. The project might also lead to better diagnostics, for example, to determine if a given patient is currently undergoing some form of angiogenesis that might be indicative of disease. The project risks are mitigated by the joint skills and experience of the supervisory team (Dr Krueger and Prof Bernabeu) who have worked together for a decade.