title: From calcium blips to calcium puffs: theoretical analysis of the requirements for interchannel communication.
abstract: In the cytoplasm of cells of different types, discrete clusters of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca(2+) channels generate Ca(2+) signals of graded size, ranging from blips, which involve the opening of only one channel, to moderately larger puffs, which result from the concerted opening of a few channels in the same cluster. These channel clusters are of unknown size or geometrical characteristics. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of channels and the interchannel distance within such a cluster. Because these characteristics are not attainable experimentally, we performed computer stochastic simulations of Ca(2+) release events. We conclude that, to ensure efficient interchannel communication, as experimentally observed, a typical cluster should contain two or three tens of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca(2+) channels in close contact.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 602, route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium. swillens@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Swillens
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dupont
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Combettes
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Champeil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003600:Cytosol; D006801:Humans; D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate