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.