Glutamate regulation of calcium and IP₃ oscillating and pulsating dynamics in astrocytes

De Pittà M., Goldberg M., Volman V., Berry H., Ben-Jacob E.

Journal of Biological Physics 2009, 35: 383-411

Faculty Comments for the Faculty of 1000 Biology

by Geneviève Dupont, Free University of Brussels, Belgium

This is one of the few studies to demonstrate, in a quantitative way, the importance of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP₃) synthesis and metabolism in the Ca²⁺ signalling pathway.

This modelling study provides a rigorous and clear analysis of astrocytic Ca²⁺ signalling, closely based on experimental data. It clearly demonstrates the implication of InsP₃ dynamics in the generation of frequency- and/or amplitude-coded Ca²⁺ signals. Another very interesting prediction is that fluctuations in the levels of extracellular glutamate could substantially smoothen intracellular Ca²⁺ oscillations. Given the increasingly recognized implication of glial cells in cognitive functions and brain disorders, such a model will be necessary for a comprehensive understanding of neuronal dynamics.

Geneviève Dupont, Faculty of 1000 Biology, 4 Sep 2009.

http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1163674/evaluation