Numerical modelling of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases: a computational study

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Antonietti, Paola F., Corti, Mattia
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Antonietti, Paola F.
Corti, Mattia
author_facet Antonietti, Paola F.
Corti, Mattia
contents The spreading of misfolded proteins is a known hallmark in some neurodegenerative diseases, known as proteinopathies. A significant example is the tau protein, associated with many pathologies, such as Alzheimer's. In this work, we discuss and compare two different models for the mathematical modelling of protein misfolding, namely the heterodimer model and the Fisher-Kolmogorov model, as well as their numerical discretizations. We introduce a discontinuous Galerkin method on polygonal and polyhedral grids for space discretization to accurately simulate the wavefronts typically observed in the prionic spreading. Starting from the semidiscrete formulations, we use a Crank-Nicolson scheme to advance in time. Finally, we simulate the spreading of the misfolded tau protein in a two-dimensional brain slice in the sagittal plane with a polygonal agglomerated grid. The simulation is performed using both the presented models, and we compare the results and the differences deriving from the modelling choices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_15747
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Numerical modelling of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases: a computational study
Antonietti, Paola F.
Corti, Mattia
Numerical Analysis
The spreading of misfolded proteins is a known hallmark in some neurodegenerative diseases, known as proteinopathies. A significant example is the tau protein, associated with many pathologies, such as Alzheimer's. In this work, we discuss and compare two different models for the mathematical modelling of protein misfolding, namely the heterodimer model and the Fisher-Kolmogorov model, as well as their numerical discretizations. We introduce a discontinuous Galerkin method on polygonal and polyhedral grids for space discretization to accurately simulate the wavefronts typically observed in the prionic spreading. Starting from the semidiscrete formulations, we use a Crank-Nicolson scheme to advance in time. Finally, we simulate the spreading of the misfolded tau protein in a two-dimensional brain slice in the sagittal plane with a polygonal agglomerated grid. The simulation is performed using both the presented models, and we compare the results and the differences deriving from the modelling choices.
title Numerical modelling of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases: a computational study
topic Numerical Analysis
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.15747