title: Minimal models of electric potential oscillations in non-excitable membranes.
abstract: Sustained oscillations in the membrane potential have been observed in a variety of cellular and subcellular systems, including several types of non-excitable cells and mitochondria. For the plasma membrane, these electrical oscillations have frequently been related to oscillations in intracellular calcium. For the inner mitochondrial membrane, in several cases the electrical oscillations have been attributed to modifications in calcium dynamics. As an alternative, some authors have suggested that the sustained oscillations in the mitochondrial membrane potential induced by some metabolic intermediates depends on the direct effect of internal protons on proton conductance. Most theoretical models developed to interpret oscillations in the membrane potential integrate several transport and biochemical processes. Here we evaluate whether three simple dynamic models may constitute plausible representations of electric oscillations in non-excitable membranes. The basic mechanism considered in the derivation of the models is based upon evidence obtained by Hattori et al. for mitochondria and assumes that an ionic species (i.e., the proton) is transported via passive and active transport systems between an external and an internal compartment and that the ion affects the kinetic properties of transport by feedback regulation. The membrane potential is incorporated via its effects on kinetic properties. The dynamic properties of two of the models enable us to conclude that they may represent alternatives enabling description of the generation of electrical oscillations in membranes that depend on the transport of a single ionic species.
authors.affiliation: Sección Biofísica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá esq. Mataojo, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perdomo
authors.forename: Julio A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hernández
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D001693:Biological Transport, Active / Q000502:physiology; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004560:Electricity; D025461:Feedback, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007477:Ions / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000502:physiology*; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010507:Periodicity; D011522:Protons; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D007477:Ions; D011522:Protons