Analysis of blood cell production under growth factors switching

Abstract

Hematopoiesis is a highly complicated biological phenomenon. Improving its mathematical modeling and analysis are essential steps towards consolidating the common knowledge about mechanisms behind blood cells production. On the other hand, trying to deepen the mathematical modeling of this process has a cost and may be highly demanding in terms of mathematical analysis. In this paper, we propose to describe hematopoiesis under growth factor-dependent parameters as a switching system. Thus, we consider that different biological functions involved in hematopoiesis, including aging velocities, are controlled through multiple growth factors. Then we attempt a new approach in the framework of time-delay switching systems, in order to interpret the behavior of the system around its possible positive steady states. We start here with the study of a specific case in which switching is assumed to result from drug infusions. In a broader context, we expect that interpreting cell dynamics using switching systems leads to a good compromise between complexity of realistic models and their mathematical analysis. © 2017