Background: Cell adhesion is a process that involves the interaction between the cell\nmembrane and another surface, either a cell or a substrate. Unlike experimental tests,\ncomputer models can simulate processes and study the result of experiments in a\nshorter time and lower costs. One of the tools used to simulate biological processes is\nthe cellular automata, which is a dynamic system that is discrete both in space and time.\nMethod: This work describes a computer model based on cellular automata for the\nadhesion process and cell proliferation to predict the behavior of a cell population in\nsuspension and adhered to a substrate. The values of the simulated system were\nobtained through experimental tests on fibroblast monolayer cultures.\nResults: The results allow us to estimate the cells settling time in culture as well as the\nadhesion and proliferation time. The change in the cells morphology as the adhesion\nover the contact surface progress was also observed. The formation of the initial link\nbetween cell and the substrate of the adhesion was observed after 100 min where the\ncell on the substrate retains its spherical morphology during the simulation. The cellular\nautomata model developed is, however, a simplified representation of the steps in the\nadhesion process and the subsequent proliferation.\nConclusion: A combined framework of experimental and computational simulation\nbased on cellular automata was proposed to represent the fibroblast adhesion on\nsubstrates and changes in a macro-scale observed in the cell during the adhesion\nprocess. The approach showed to be simple and efficient.
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