The directed movement of neutrophils is provided by the rapid polymerization of actin with the formation of a protrusion growing forward. In our previous work we observed impaired neutrophil movement for patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) compared to healthy donors.In this work, we set out to explain the impairment of neutrophil chemotaxis in patients by observation and computer modeling of the linear growth rates of the anterior pseudopodia. The neutrophil chemotaxis was observed by means of low-angle fluorescent microscopy in parallel-plate flow chambers. The computational model was constructed as a networklike 2D stochastic polymerization of actin guided by the proximity of cell membrane with branching governed by Arp2/3 and WASP proteins.The observed linear velocity of neutrophil pseudopodium formation was 0.22 ± 0.04 μm/s for healthy donors and 0.23 ± 0.08 μm/s for WAS patients. The model described the velocity of the pseudopodium formation for healthy donors well. For the description of WAS patients data, a variation of branching velocity (governed by WASP) by an order of magnitude was applied, which did not significantly alter the linear protrusion growth velocity.We conclude that the proposed mathematical model of neutrophil pseudopodium formation could describe the experimental data well, but the data on overall neutrophil movement could not be explained by the velocities of the pseudopodium growth.

Global vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has proved to be highly effective. However, the possibility of antibody-dependent enhancement of infection (ADE) upon vaccination remains underinvestigated. Here, we aimed to theoretically determine conditions for the occurrence of ADE in COVID-19. We developed a series of mathematical models of antibody response: model Ab—a model of antibody formation; model Cv—a model of infection spread in the body; and a complete model, which combines the two others. The models describe experimental data on SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans and cell cultures, including viral load dynamics, seroconversion times and antibody concentration kinetics. The modelling revealed that a significant proportion of macrophages can become infected only if they bind antibodies with high probability. Thus, a high probability of macrophage infection and a sufficient amount of pre-existing antibodies are necessary for the development of ADE in SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, from the point of view of the dynamics of pneumocyte infection, the two cases where the body has a high concentration of preexisting antibodies and a high probability of macrophage infection and where there is a low concentration of antibodies in the body and no macrophage infection are indistinguishable. This conclusion could explain the lack of confirmed ADE cases for COVID-19.

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In human spermatozoa, calcium dynamics control most of fertilization events. Progesterone, present in the female reproductive system, can trigger several types of calcium responses, such as low-frequency oscillations. Here we aimed to identify the mechanisms of progesterone-induced calcium signaling in human spermatozoa. Progesterone-induced activation of fluorophore-loaded spermatozoa was studied by fluorescent microscopy. Two computational models were developed to describe the spermatozoa calcium responses: a homogeneous one based on a system of ordinary differential equations and a three-dimensional one with added space dimensions and diffusion for the cytosolic species. In response to progesterone, three types of calcium responses were observed in human spermatozoa: a single transient rise of calcium concentration in cytosol, a steady elevation, or low-frequency oscillations. The homogenous model provided qualitative description of the oscillatory and the single spike responses, while the three-dimensional model captured the calcium peak shape and the frequency of calcium oscillations. The model analysis demonstrated that an increase in the calcium diffusion coefficient resulted in the disappearance of the calcium oscillations. Additionally, in silico analysis suggested that the spatial distribution of calcium signaling enzymes governs the appearance of calcium oscillations in progesterone-activated human spermatozoa.