title: Monotone dynamics of two cells dynamically coupled by a voltage-dependent gap junction.
abstract: We introduce and analyse a simple model for two non-excitable cells that are dynamically coupled by a gap junction, a plaque of aqueous channels that electrically couple the cells. The gap junction channels have a low and high conductance state, and the transition rates between these states are voltage-dependent. We show that the number and stability of steady states of the system has a simple relationship with the determinant of the Jacobian matrix. For the case that channel opening rates decrease with increasing trans-junctional voltage, and closing rates increase with increasing trans-junctional voltage, we show that the system is monotone, with tridiagonal Jacobian matrix, and hence every initial condition evolves to a steady state, but that there may be multiple steady states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. p.donnell@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donnell
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Baigent
authors.forename: Murad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banaji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological