A deterministic model for the occurrence and dynamics of multiple mutations in hierarchically organized tissues

TL;DR

This paper presents a deterministic multi-compartment model for understanding how multiple mutations develop and behave in hierarchically organized tissues, providing analytical solutions for clone dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a general mathematical framework for modeling mutation accumulation in hierarchical tissues with multiple compartments and mutations, offering explicit solutions for clone behavior.

Findings

Closed-form solutions for clone dynamics and reproductive capacity.

Model applicable to tissues with arbitrary proliferation parameters.

Provides insights into mutation accumulation in hierarchical tissues.

Abstract

We model a general, hierarchically organized tissue by a multi compartment approach, allowing any number of mutations within a cell. We derive closed solutions for the deterministic clonal dynamics and the reproductive capacity of single clones. Our results hold for the average dynamics in a hierarchical tissue characterized by an arbitrary combination of proliferation parameters.