Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026
06:42
Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
Published on: June 8, 2018
'Quantal' Ca(2+) release reassessed--a clue to oscillation and synchronization
1Department of Physiology I, Nara Medical University, Shijo-cho 840, Kashihara 634-8521, Japan. yama@naramed-u.ac.jp
FEBS Letters
|August 30, 2006
Summary
Calcium (Ca2+) release from intracellular stores is quantal, meaning it occurs in rapid fractions. A new model suggests luminal potential regulates this efflux, potentially explaining Ca2+ signaling control.
Area of Science:
- Cellular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
Background:
- Calcium signaling is crucial for cellular functions.
- Intracellular calcium release is a 'quantal' process, releasing a fraction of stored calcium.
- Existing models ('all-or-none', 'steady-state') attempt to explain this quantal nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing hypotheses for quantal calcium release.
- To introduce and discuss the 'luminal potential' model.
- To explore how quantal release mechanisms influence broader calcium signaling dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing models.
- Theoretical consideration of the 'luminal potential' model.
- Reassessment of quantal release in the context of calcium signaling features.
Main Results:
- The 'luminal potential' model proposes that the membrane potential of calcium stores regulates calcium efflux.
- This model offers a potential explanation for the quantal nature of calcium release.
- Quantal release mechanisms may be fundamental to temporal and spatial control of calcium signaling.
Conclusions:
- The 'luminal potential' model provides a novel perspective on quantal calcium release.
- Understanding quantal release is key to deciphering the regulation of calcium oscillations and synchronization.
- The mechanism of quantal calcium release is essential for precise temporal and spatial control in calcium signaling.
Related Concept Videos
01:04Oscillations about an Equilibrium Position
Stability is an important concept in oscillation. If an equilibrium point is stable, a slight disturbance of an object that is initially at the stable equilibrium point will cause the object to oscillate around that point. For an unstable equilibrium point, if the object is disturbed slightly, it will not return to the equilibrium point. There are three conditions for equilibrium points—stable, unstable, and half-stable. A half-stable equilibrium point is also unstable, but is named so because...
01:07Damped Oscillations
In the real world, oscillations seldom follow true simple harmonic motion. A system that continues its motion indefinitely without losing its amplitude is termed undamped. However, friction of some sort usually dampens the motion, so it fades away or needs more force to continue. For example, a guitar string stops oscillating a few seconds after being plucked. Similarly, one must continually push a swing to keep a child swinging on a playground.
Although friction and other non-conservative...
Although friction and other non-conservative...
01:31Oscillations In An LC Circuit
An idealized LC circuit of zero resistance can oscillate without any source of emf by shifting the energy stored in the circuit between the electric and magnetic fields. In such an LC circuit, if the capacitor contains a charge q before the switch is closed, then all the energy of the circuit is initially stored in the electric field of the capacitor. This energy is given by
01:06Forced Oscillations
When an oscillator is forced with a periodic driving force, the motion may seem chaotic. The motions of such oscillators are known as transients. After the transients die out, the oscillator reaches a steady state, where the motion is periodic, and the displacement is determined.
02:32The de Broglie Wavelength
In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...
02:45The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra. Schrödinger...