From Finite to Continuous Phenotypes in (Visco-)Elastic Tissue Growth Models

Abstract: In this study, we explore a mathematical model for tissue growth focusing on the interplay between multiple cell subpopulations with distinct phenotypic characteristics. The model addresses the dynamics of tissue growth influenced by phenotype-dependent growth rates and collective population pressure, governed by Brinkman's law. We examine two primary objectives: the joint limit where viscosity tends to zero while the number of species approaches infinity, yielding an inviscid Darcy-type model with a continuous phenotype variable, and the continuous phenotype limit where the number of species becomes infinite with a fixed viscosity, resulting in a novel viscoelastic tissue growth model. In this sense, this paper provides a comprehensive framework that elucidates the relationships between four different modelling paradigms in tissue growth.