Dynamical Crossover in a Stochastic Model of Cell Fate Decision

Hiroki Yamaguchi, Kyogo Kawaguchi, Takahiro Sagawa

Published 2016-04-12Version 1

We perform a statistical-mechanical study of the asymptotic behaviors of stochastic cell fate decision between proliferation and differentiation. We propose a model based on a self-replicating Langevin system, where cells choose their fate (i.e., proliferation or differentiation), depending on the local cell density. We show that our model ensures tissue homeostasis, which is regarded as self-organized criticality. Furthermore, we numerically demonstrate that the asymptotic clonal analysis exhibits the dynamical crossover of clone size statistics. Our results provide a unified platform for the study of stochastic cell fate decision in terms of nonequilibrium statistical physics.