Observable effects of Ca2+ buffers on local Ca2+ signals

SOLOVEY, GUILLERMO; PONCE DAWSON, SILVINA

PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES

ROYAL SOC

Año: 2010 vol. 368 p. 5597 - 5603

1364-503X

  Calcium signals participate of a large variety of physiological  processes. In many instances they involve calcium entry through  inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3R´s) which  are usually organized in clusters. High resolution optical  experiments Smith & Parker (2009)  are providing new information on  Ca2+ release from clustered IP3R´s.  In the present paper we use the  model introduced in Solovey & Ponce Dawson (2010) to determine how the  distribution of the number of IP3R´s that become open during a  localized release event may change by the presence of Ca2+ buffers,  substances that react with Ca2+ altering its concentration and  transport properties. We then discuss how buffer properties could be  extracted from the observation of local signals.