Deciphering the complexity of acute inflammation using mathematical models

Various stresses elicit an acute, complex inflammatory response, leading to healing but sometimes also to organ dysfunction and death. We constructed both equation-based models (EBM) and agent-based models (ABM) of various degrees of granularity--which encompass the dynamics of relevant cells, cytokines, and the resulting global tissue dysfunction--in order to begin to unravel these inflammatory interactions. The EBMs describe and predict various features of septic shock and trauma/hemorrhage (including the response to anthrax, preconditioning phenomena, and irreversible hemorrhage) and were used to simulate anti-inflammatory strategies in clinical trials. The ABMs that describe the interrelationship between inflammation and wound healing yielded insights into intestinal healing in necrotizing enterocolitis, vocal fold healing during phonotrauma, and skin healing in the setting of diabetic foot ulcers. Modeling may help in understanding the complex interactions among the components of inflammation and response to stress, and therefore aid in the development of novel therapies and diagnostics.