Coupling Effect of Ion Channel Clusters on Calcium Signalling

Based on a modified intracellular Ca2+ model involving diffusive coupling of two calcium ion channel clusters, the effects of coupling on calcium signalling are numerically investigated. The simulation results indicate that the diffusive coupling of clusters together with internal noise determine the calcium dynamics of single cluster, and for either homogeneous or heterogeneous coupled clusters, the synchronization of clusters, which is important to calcium signalling, is enhanced by the coupling effect.