Mathematical Modeling of the Interaction of Inflammation and Chemotaxis in Atherosclerosis: Formation of Fatty Streaksщт

Atherosclerosis is a chronic in ammatory disease that develops progressively through continuous evolution of arterial wall lesions. It is characterized by the accumulation of lipids inside the arterial wall resulting in inflammatory responses. We study the early stages of atherosclerosis with a mathematical model based on reaction-diffusion equations. The model includes the main factors in atherosclerosis and focuses on the positive feedback between the inflammation in atherosclerosis and the chemotactic movement of macrophages. Stability analysis and numerical simulations for a reduced model including macrophages and inflammatory cytokines show the formation of spatial structures corresponding to the emergence of fatty streaks as a result of interaction between chemotaxis and inflammation. Finally, we consider the complete model taking into account also endothelial cells and growth factor that provides a more realistic description of the disease and extend the results obtained by performing numerical simulations.