Calcium draws its words in space and time

SILVINA PONCE DAWSON

Seminario; Seminario del Grupo de Quimica y Biologia Teorica, Univ Libre de Bruselas; 2016

Intracellular calcium signals are involved in a large variety of physiological processes. Their versatility relies on the diversity of spatio-temporal behaviors that the calcium concentration can display. Calcium entry through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3Rs) is a key component of the calcium signaling toolkit. The open probability of IP3Rs depends on [Ca2+]. Individual IP3R openings are then coupled through Calcium Induced Calcium Release (CICR). The interplay between CICR, the different intracellular Ca2+ trapping mechanisms and the non-uniform IP3R spatial organization leads to a variety of signals. A comprehensive understanding of these complex processes calls for a combination of modeling and experiment. In this talk I will first give an overview of the experimental and theoretical efforts that we have been pursuing in Buenos Aires to then concentrate on a particular example related to synaptic plasticity in which the different words that calcium draws in space and time give rise to different end responses.