MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF CALCIUM SIGNALLING PATHWAYS IN AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

Milan Brumen 1,2,3 and Aleš Fajmut 2

1 Medical Faculty and 2 Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Maribor, and 3 Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

A complex scheme of a mechanism of the airway smooth muscle contraction is presented in terms of mathematical modelling. Experimental data showed that the sustained contraction of the muscle may be regulated by the frequency of cytosolic calcium oscillations which are induced by an action of different agonist like, for example, acetylcholine. Cytosolic calcium oscillations, calcium and calmodulin dependent activation of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), phosphorylation of myosin light chains (MLC) which depends on a balance between the activity of MLCK and myosin light chain phosphatase, and, finally, a concomitant force development in relation to MLC phosphorylation are the main steps in the process of transferring a calcium signal from the oscillations in cytosol to the muscle contraction. Each step will be treated separately as well as in conjunction within an unified complex scheme.

Email: milan.brumen@uni-mb.si

Address: Milan Brumen, Pedagoška fakulteta, Koroška cesta 160, 2000 Maribor