A Mathematical Model for the Progression of an Abnormality in the Hematopoietic System

Abstract

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is an abnormality of the hematopoietic stem cells. MDS affects the normal functions of the progenitor cells that lead to the development of the peripheral blood cells. The greatest impact that MDS has on a patient is usually anemia. This study tests the hypothesis that MDS is due to the birth of a mutated stem cell that has lost the ability to differentiate. We utilized a mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of a few of the hematopoietic components in order to predict the onset and progression of MDS. We modified this mathematical model as necessary in order to simulate the effect produced by a stem cell's loss of ability to differentiate. The output of this model reproduces, in good comparison, the length of time observed for the onset of neutropenia in an MDS patient. The model's simulations of a common treatment plan for neutropenia, an injection of a single dose of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) cytokine, predicted a short term relief of white blood cell count (WBC) deficiency and no effect on the length of time observed for the onset of neutropenia. This model, with the addition of more details of the hematopoietic dynamics, could prove to be extremely useful in future studies of MDS.