Emergence of Rules in Cell Society: Differentiation, Hierarchy, and Stability

Abstract

A dynamic model for cell differentiation is studied, where cells with internal chemical reaction dynamics interact with each other and replicate. It leads to spontaneous differentiation of cells and determination, as is discussed in the isologous diversification. Following features of the differentiation are obtained: (1)Hierarchical differentiation from a ``stem'' cell to other cell types, with the emergence of the interaction-dependent rules for differentiation; (2)Global stability of an ensemble of cells consisting of several cell types, that is sustained by the emergent, autonomous control on the rate of differentiation; (3)Existence of several cell colonies with different cell-type distributions. The results provide a novel viewpoint on the origin of complex cell society, while relevance to some biological problems, especially to the hemopoietic system, is also discussed.