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Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
Published on: July 16, 2013
A bidomain threshold model of propagating calcium waves
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. ruediger.thul@nottingham.ac.uk
Journal of Mathematical Biology
|September 6, 2007
Summary
A new mathematical model reveals how calcium waves travel in cells. These waves can exhibit unique back-and-forth motion, influencing their speed based on cellular calcium levels.
Area of Science:
- Cellular Biology
- Mathematical Modeling
- Biophysics
Background:
- Intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) signaling is crucial for cellular functions.
- Understanding the dynamics of Ca(2+)) waves is essential for cell physiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a mathematical model for analyzing Ca(2+) wave propagation in living cells.
- To investigate the dependence of Ca(2+) wave speed on key physiological parameters.
Main Methods:
- Development of a bidomain fire-diffuse-fire model.
- Mathematical analysis of traveling wave solutions.
- Linear stability analysis to predict wave instabilities.
- Numerical simulations to confirm model predictions.
Main Results:
- The model explicitly constructs traveling wave solutions for Ca(2+) dynamics.
- Linear stability analysis predicts instabilities leading to back-and-forth wave propagation ('tango waves').
- Numerical simulations confirm the existence of 'tango waves' and their speed dependence on total intracellular calcium.
Conclusions:
- The bidomain fire-diffuse-fire model provides a framework for studying Ca(2+) wave dynamics.
- Cellular calcium wave propagation can exhibit complex instabilities, resulting in 'tango waves'.
- Total intracellular calcium concentration is a key determinant of Ca(2+) wave speed.
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