Open Access

ARTICLE

Activation Pattern of Nuclear Factor-kB in Skin after Mechanical Stretch – a Multiscale Modeling Approach

V.B.Shim ¹, K. Mithraratne ¹

1 Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2014, 98(3), 279-294. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2014.098.279

Abstract

The activation of NF-kB is an important precursor in developing melanoma. However the role of mechanical stimulation in the NF-kB activation has not been studied. We used a multiscale computational modeling approach to investigate the role of mechanical stimulation and the skin tissue internal structures in the activation of NF-kB. Our model is made up of three levels – 1) the macro level where a FE model of the Zygomaticus major muscle was developed; 2) the meso level where a micro FE model of the skin block using a sample from human cadaver was developed; 3) the cell level where a system of ODEs were used to describe the activation of NF-kB under mechanical stimulation. Our results indicate that the activation of NF-kB is highly dependent on the skin geometry and internal structures as well as the type of mechanical stimulation. In particular, our results showed that the flattening of the dermal-epidermal junction due to aging may play an important role in the activation of NF-kB. The future works include the extending of the current multiscale model to the whole face to quantitatively analyze the influence mechanical stimulation and tissue properties on the activation of NF-kB pathways.

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