Fig. 1

Proliferating stem cell count determined through simulations of the model. The number of proliferating cells (P) are plotted against time. The red curve shows P in the absence of growth factor deprivation and cytokine administration (baseline case). The green curve shows P in the presence of growth factor deprivation. The blue curve shows P with both growth factor deprivation and cytokine administration. By comparing the green and red curves, it can be seen that growth factor deprivation in the absence of cytokine administration causes a sharp decrease in the number of proliferating stem cells. When cytokine is administered in conjunction with serum deprivation (blue curve), the proliferating stem cell count is significantly larger in comparison with the no-cytokine case and closely matches the baseline case towards the beginning of the simulation. As the cytokine wears off with time, the number of proliferating cells becomes closer to that of when serum deprivation is solely present