Flow chart illustrating a typical protocol to build and validate a cell-centered model [30]. First, relevant individual cell behaviors should be inferred from experiments or from the scientific literature. Then the essential features of the cell system have to be translated into a mathematical model and implemented computationally. If the simulation does not provide results consistent with experimental observations, a search for missing elements or inaccurate parameter values is needed. If the model results match experimental observations, then the model can be further tested by making experimental predictions. The combination of empirical observations and cell-centered simulations allows the identification of the minimal set of single cell behaviors needed to produce certain tissue-level features.
