Plausibility of stromal initiation of epithelial cancers without a mutation in the epithelium: a computer simulation of morphostats

摘要

BackgroundThere is experimental evidence from animal models favoring the notion that the disruption of interactions between stroma and epithelium plays an important role in the initiation of carcinogenesis. These disrupted interactions are hypothesized to be mediated by molecules, termed morphostats, which diffuse through the tissue to determine cell phenotype and maintain tissue architecture.