Journal
MATHEMATICAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY-A JOURNAL OF THE IMA
Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 227-260Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/imammb/20.3.227
Keywords
bacterial infection; tissue degradation; travelling wave; moving boundary; sharp interface limit
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Extracellular bacterial pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa are able to penetrate into host tissues (given an initial breech in the outer barrier, e.g. a wound) through the action of exo-toxins and degradative exo-enzymes. A mathematical model of this process is presented which, in the absence of significant immune response, predicts the progression of the bacteria into the tissue as a travelling wave whose velocity can be determined explicitly in terms of the model parameters. Simple in vitro experiments in protein-based matrices are performed which yield results consistent with this behaviour. A complementary in vitro experimental system with distinct qualitative behaviour is also studied, giving further insight and confidence in the modelling approach.
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