A semi-stochastic cell-based model for in vitro infected ‘wound’ healing through motility reduction: A simulation study

We consider the migration and viability of individual cells in bacterial-infected cell colonies. Cell movement is assumed to take place as a result of sensing the strain energy density as a mechanical stimulus. The model is based on tracking the motion and viability of each individual cell in a cell colony, and the formalism was published in an earlier paper. The present innovations are an application to a simulation of a ‘wound healing assay’ in which bacteria infect the wound through impairing the motility of cells and an extension with effects from inertia. Though based on simple principles, the model is based on experiments on living fibroblasts on a flat substrate.