Special Session 40: Applications of dynamical systems in medicine and biology

Time Delay in a Mathematical Model of Epithelial--Mesenchymal Transitions and Implications for Cancer Treatment
Magdalena Szafranska-Leczycka
Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Poland
Co-Author(s):    K. Nec, Z. Szyma\`{n}ska, U. Fory\`{s}
Abstract:
In this presentation, we investigate the role of time delay in regulating epithelial--mesenchymal transition within the model based on Celi\`{a}-Terrassa et al. (2018). From the perspective of cancer treatment, such temporal effects may influence the effectiveness of therapeutic strategies targeting TGF-$\beta$ pathways. Sensitivity analysis indicates that parameters associated with TGF-$\beta$ degradation and autocrine production play a key role in controlling E-cadherin levels and, consequently, cellular phenotype. Moreover, following Herbertz et al. (2015), we simulate treatment strategies aimed at inhibiting EMT--MET transitions. The results of these simulations will be presented during the presentation.