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Created by: Chiara Villa

Issue 191: We developed a novel nonlocal partial differential equation model of the early stages of cluster-based vasculogenesis in order to disentangle the mechanisms responsible for the formation and size of the endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) clusters characterising this neovascularisation process with big therapeutic potential (e.g. in tumours and ischemia). In this figure we show snapshots of numerical simulations suggesting that increasing matrix degradation (top-to-bottom), likely linked with hypoxia, might speed up cluster formation (EPC density plot, time increasing left-to-right; figures have been digitally enhanced) without affecting cluster size. For more detail, read here.