Related papers: A theory of Plasma Membrane Calcium Pump stimulati…
Calcium (Ca2+) signalling is one of the most important mechanisms of information propagation in the body. In embryogenesis the interplay between Ca2+ signalling and mechanical forces is critical to the healthy development of an embryo but…
This study reveals the essence of ligand recognition mechanisms by which calmodulin (CaM) controls a variety of Ca2+ signaling processes. We study eight forms of calcium-loaded CaM each with distinct conformational states. Reducing the…
Calmodulin, the ubiquitous calcium-activated second messenger in eukaryotes, is an extremely versatile molecule involved in many biological processes: muscular contraction, synaptic plasticity, circadian rhythm, and cell cycle, among…
We revisit here the mathematical model for ATP production in mitochondria introduced recently by Bertram, Pedersen, Luciani, and Sherman (BPLS) as a simplification of the more complete but intricate Magnus and Keizer's model. We identify…
Mitochondrial adenine nucleotide (AdN) content is regulated through the Ca2+-activated, electroneutral ATP-Mg/Pi carrier (APC). The APC is a protein in the mitochondrial carrier super family that localizes to the inner mitochondrial…
In pancreatic $\beta$-cells, calcium oscillation signal is the core part of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Intracellular calcium concentration oscillates in response to the intake of glucose, which triggers the exocytosis of insulin…
The calcium (Ca$^{2+}$) signalling system is important for many cellular processes within the human body. Signals are transmitted within the cell by releasing Ca$^{2+}$ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into the cytosol via clusters of…
Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous calcium binding protein consisting of two structurally similar domains with distinct stabilities, binding affinities, and flexibilities. We present coarse grained simulations that suggest the mechanism for…
Hyperamylinemia, a condition characterized by above-normal blood levels of the pancreas-derived peptide amylin, accompanies obesity and precedes type II diabetes. Human amylin oligomerizes easily and can deposit in the pancreas, brain, and…
Ca$^{2+}$ plays an important role in cell signal transduction. Its intracellular propagation is the most basic process of Ca$^{2+}$ signaling, such as calcium wave and double messenger system. In this work, with both numerical simulation…
The presynaptic free calcium dynamics of neurons due to various stimulation protocols is investigated in a mathematical model. The model includes calcium influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels, calcium buffering by endogenous and…
The electrophysiology of betacells is at the origin of insulin secretion. Betacells exhibit a complex behaviour upon stimulation with glucose including repeated and uninterrupted bursting. Mathematical modelling is most suitable to improve…
The flexibility in the structure of calmodulin (CaM) allows its binding to over 300 target proteins in the cell. To investigate the structure-function relationship of CaM, we combined methods of computer simulation and experiments based on…
Here we study a pumping device capable of maintaining a density gradient and a flux of particles across a membrane. Its driving mechanism is based on the flashing ratchet effect powered by the random telegraph process in the presence of…
Muscle uses Ca2+ as a messenger to control contraction and relies on ATP to maintain the intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. Mitochondria are the major sub-cellular organelle of ATP production. With a negative inner membrane potential,…
Membrane transporters contribute to the regulation of the internal environment of cells by translocating substrates across cell membranes. Like all physical systems, the behaviour of membrane transporters is constrained by the laws of…
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) govern a daunting number of physiological processes. For such proteins, molecular mechanisms governing their interactions with proteins…
Isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles in the presence of Mg(2+) and absence of Ca(2+) retain significant ATP hydrolytic activity that can be attributed to the Ca(2+)-ATPase protein. At neutral pH and the presence of 5 mM Mg(2+), the…
We propose a model for synaptic plasticity based on a calcium signaling cascade. The model simplifies the full signaling pathways from a calcium influx to the phosphorylation (potentiation) and dephosphorylation (depression) of glutamate…
Most of the calcium in the body is stored in bone. The rest is stored elsewhere, and calcium signalling is one of the most important mechanisms of information propagation in the body. Yet, many questions remain open. In this work, we…