Numerical Analysis of the Effect of T-tubule Location on Calcium Transient in Ventricular Myocytes

作者：George Uduak Z; Wang Jun; Yu Zeyun^*

来源：Bio-medical Materials and Engineering, 2014, 24(1): 1299-1306.

DOI：10.3233/BME-130932

• Cardiac myocytes
• calcium dynamics
• reaction-diffusion equations
• numerical analysis
• finite element method

Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling in cardiac myocytes is vital for proper functioning of the heart. Understanding the intracellular Ca2+ dynamics would give an insight into the functions of normal and diseased hearts. In the current study, spatiotemporal Ca2+ dynamics is investigated in ventricular myocytes by considering Ca2+ release and re-uptake via sarcolemma and transverse tubules (T-tubules), Ca2+ diffusion and buffering in the cytosol, and the blockade of Ca2+ activities associated with the sarcoplasmic reticulum. This study is carried out using a three dimensional (3D) geometric model of a branch of T-tubule extracted from the electron microscopy (EM) images of a partial ventricular myocyte. Mathematical modeling is done by using a system of partial differential equations involving Ca2+, buffers, and membrane channels. Numerical simulation results suggest that a lack of T-tubule structure at the vicinity of the cell surface could increase the peak time of Ca2+ concentration in myocytes. The results also show that T-tubules and mobile buffers play an important role in the regulation of Ca2+ transient in ventricular myocytes.

• 出版日期2014