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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Dissection of Local Ca2+ Signals in Cultured Cells by Membrane-targeted Ca2+ Indicators
Published on: March 22, 2019
The role of IP3R clustering in Ca2+ signalinG
Alexander Skupin1, Martin Falcke
1Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medince, Departement of Mathematical Cell Physiology, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany. alexander.skupin@hmi.de
Abstract:
Ca(2+) is the most important second messenger controlling a variety of intracellular processes by oscillations of the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. These oscillations occur by Ca(2+) release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into the cytosol through channels and the re-uptake of Ca(2+) into the ER by pumps. A common channel type present in many cell types is the inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP(3)R), which is activated by IP(3) and Ca(2+) itself leading to Ca(2+) induced Ca(2+) release (CICR). We have shown in an experimental study, that Ca(2+) oscillations are sequences of random spikes that occur by wave nucleation. We use here our recently developed model for Ca(2+) dynamics in 3 dimension to illuminate the role of IP(3)R clustering within spatial extended systems.
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