Modeling calcium wave oscillations in astrocytes

Calcium wave oscillations are utilized by astrocytes as a method of cellular communication. These waves are dependent on both an intracellular gap junction pathway involving [Ca^+^+]"i and [IP"3]"i and an extracellular pathway involving [ATP]"o and [Glu]"o. Our goal was to incorporate the extracellular pathway into a pre-existing mathematical model of the intracellular pathway. The model showed that during an [IP"3]"i-stimulated calcium wave, [ATP]"o controls the amplitude while [Glu]"o controls the duration of the wave. Also, our model implicated purinergic, PLCB and PLCG activating receptors as potential drug targets to modify glutamate release by astrocytes which may effect neural plasticity.

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