ANALYSIS OF A MODEL FOR TRANSFER PHENOMENA

IN BIOLOGICAL POPULATIONS

Glenn Webb

Department of Mathematics

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN USA 37240

glenn.f.webb@vanderbilt.edu

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a protein overexpressed in cancer cells that causes multi-drug resistance to cancer

therapy. Recent experimental evidence demonstrates that P-gp is transferred directly cell-to-cell in in vitro

cell cultures of breast tumor cell lines. A mathematical model quantifies the transfer process of P-gp in

in vitro cultures of MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells. The model supports the hypothesis that

P-gp is transferred directly cell-to-cell and provides a framework for optimizing chemotherapy regimens.