title: Multiscale modeling of calcium dynamics in ventricular myocytes with realistic transverse tubules.
abstract: Spatial-temporal Ca(2+) dynamics due to Ca(2+) release, buffering, and reuptaking plays a central role in studying excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in both normal and diseased cardiac myocytes. In this paper, we employ two numerical methods, namely, the meshless method and the finite element method, to model such Ca(2+) behaviors by solving a nonlinear system of reaction-diffusion partial differential equations at two scales. In particular, a subcellular model containing several realistic transverse tubules (or t-tubules) is investigated and assumed to reside at different locations relative to the cell membrane. To this end, the Ca(2+) concentration calculated from the whole-cell modeling is adopted as part of the boundary constraint in the subcellular model. The preliminary simulations show that Ca(2+) concentration changes in ventricular myocytes are mainly influenced by calcium release from t-tubules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA. yuz@uwm.edu
authors.forename: Zeyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoshijima
authors.forename: Anushka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michailova
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holst
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012508:Sarcolemma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium