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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
Published on: July 16, 2013
Noise enhanced hormonal signal transduction through intracellular calcium oscillations
L Läer1, M Kloppstech, C Schöfl
1Computational Endocrinology Group, Department of Clinical Endocrinology, Medical School Hannover, D-30623 Hannover, Germany.
Abstract:
In a wide range of non-linear dynamical systems, noise may enhance the detection of weak deterministic input signals. Here, we demonstrate this phenomenon for transmembrane signaling in a hormonal model system of intracellular Ca(2+) oscillations. Adding Gaussian noise to a subthreshold extracellular pulsatile stimulus increased the sensitivity in the dose-response relation of the Ca(2+) oscillations compared to the same noise signal added as a constant mean level. These findings may have important physiological consequences for the operation of hormonal and other physiological signal transduction systems close to the threshold level.
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