Berlin 2008 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 17: Physics of Cells
BP 17.6: Talk
Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 15:15–15:30, PC 203
A new approach in Ca2+ modeling — •Alexander Skupin and Martin Falcke — Hahn Meitner Institut, Glienicker Straße 100, 14109 Berlin, Germany
Ca2+ is the most important second messenger in living cells serving as a critical link between a variety of physiological stimuli and their intra and intercellular response. In our recent study we have demonstrated the stochastic character of Ca2+ oscillations, which are caused by the stochastic opening of ion channels releasing Ca2+ from internal stores into the cytosol. This liberated Ca2+ can activate adjoining channels resulting in a global Ca2+ wave within the cell, i.e. that microscopic fluctuations determine the global behavior of cells.
Thus modeling has to take the spatial character of this phenomenon into account, since oscillation are orchestrated on that level. The describing system of coupled reaction diffusion equations exhibits huge gradients which slow down the simulation speed of straight forward methods. Therefor we linearized the equations and developed an analytical solution in terms of coupled Greens function which are driven by the stochastic behavior of the ion channels acting as source terms in the equations. We will compare the results of the interplay of our analytical solution and the stochastic driving modeled by a Gillespie algorithm with our experimental results.