Integrated Experimental & Mathematical Approaches to Modeling Neuroinflammation

Neuroinflammation is driven by cellular interactions that are difficult to capture with experimental or mathematical approaches alone. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, dynamically shift between functional states in response to different stimuli. Here we present an integrated framework that combines microscopy, cell quantification, and RNA sequencing with mathematical modeling to describe the cellular interactions underlying neuroinflammation. Our data reveal four distinct microglia subtypes whose behaviors and interactions with other neural cell types are incorporated into a system of ODEs. This approach allows us to move from population-level description of microglia to a subtype-specific description of their roles in inflammation. Using our mathematical model, we explore how microglia subpopulations differentially contribute to the propagation of the neuroimmune response, specifically through cytokine secretion, blood-brain barrier weakening, and T cell activation. We will also outline how our suite of primary experimental data can be used by others to inform future mathematical models.

Integrated Experimental & Mathematical Approaches to Modeling Neuroinflammation

Monday, July 14 at 6:00pm

Tristen Jackson

"Integrated Experimental & Mathematical Approaches to Modeling Neuroinflammation"

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