Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.

A deterministic population dynamics model involving birth and death for a two-species system, comprising a wild-type and more resistant species competing via logistic growth, is subjected to two distinct stress environments designed to mimic those that would typically be induced by temporal variatio...

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Main Authors: Marianne Bauer, Isabella R Graf, Vudtiwat Ngampruetikorn, Greg J Stephens, Erwin Frey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-09-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5643144?pdf=render
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author Marianne Bauer
Isabella R Graf
Vudtiwat Ngampruetikorn
Greg J Stephens
Erwin Frey
author_facet Marianne Bauer
Isabella R Graf
Vudtiwat Ngampruetikorn
Greg J Stephens
Erwin Frey
author_sort Marianne Bauer
collection DOAJ
description A deterministic population dynamics model involving birth and death for a two-species system, comprising a wild-type and more resistant species competing via logistic growth, is subjected to two distinct stress environments designed to mimic those that would typically be induced by temporal variation in the concentration of a drug (antibiotic or chemotherapeutic) as it permeates through the population and is progressively degraded. Different treatment regimes, involving single or periodical doses, are evaluated in terms of the minimal population size (a measure of the extinction probability), and the population composition (a measure of the selection pressure for resistance or tolerance during the treatment). We show that there exist timescales over which the low-stress regime is as effective as the high-stress regime, due to the competition between the two species. For multiple periodic treatments, competition can ensure that the minimal population size is attained during the first pulse when the high-stress regime is short, which implies that a single short pulse can be more effective than a more protracted regime. Our results suggest that when the duration of the high-stress environment is restricted, a treatment with one or multiple shorter pulses can produce better outcomes than a single long treatment. If ecological competition is to be exploited for treatments, it is crucial to determine these timescales, and estimate for the minimal population threshold that suffices for extinction. These parameters can be quantified by experiment.
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spelling doaj.art-17c40b052d874203bc214e03668ae6492022-12-22T01:07:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582017-09-01139e100574710.1371/journal.pcbi.1005747Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.Marianne BauerIsabella R GrafVudtiwat NgampruetikornGreg J StephensErwin FreyA deterministic population dynamics model involving birth and death for a two-species system, comprising a wild-type and more resistant species competing via logistic growth, is subjected to two distinct stress environments designed to mimic those that would typically be induced by temporal variation in the concentration of a drug (antibiotic or chemotherapeutic) as it permeates through the population and is progressively degraded. Different treatment regimes, involving single or periodical doses, are evaluated in terms of the minimal population size (a measure of the extinction probability), and the population composition (a measure of the selection pressure for resistance or tolerance during the treatment). We show that there exist timescales over which the low-stress regime is as effective as the high-stress regime, due to the competition between the two species. For multiple periodic treatments, competition can ensure that the minimal population size is attained during the first pulse when the high-stress regime is short, which implies that a single short pulse can be more effective than a more protracted regime. Our results suggest that when the duration of the high-stress environment is restricted, a treatment with one or multiple shorter pulses can produce better outcomes than a single long treatment. If ecological competition is to be exploited for treatments, it is crucial to determine these timescales, and estimate for the minimal population threshold that suffices for extinction. These parameters can be quantified by experiment.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5643144?pdf=render
spellingShingle Marianne Bauer
Isabella R Graf
Vudtiwat Ngampruetikorn
Greg J Stephens
Erwin Frey
Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
PLoS Computational Biology
title Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
title_full Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
title_fullStr Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
title_full_unstemmed Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
title_short Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction.
title_sort exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5643144?pdf=render
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