Berlin 2008 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Physics of Cells

BP 17.6: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 27. Februar 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.