Mathematical Modelling and High Resolution Fluorescence Imaging for Studying Calcium Regulation

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to describe and discuss a fundamental concept for studying cellular signalling. It is the combination of state of the art experimental techniques, in particular high resolution fluorescence imaging, with detailed spatio-temporal mathematical models of intracellular calcium regulation. This approach provides a powerful tool to elucidate the very complex mechanisms involved in cellular Ca ²⁺-signalling and allows to correct for inherent experimental limitations and biases. It has proved to be particularly successful, since experimental findings can be directly incorporated into mathematical models. In principle, this allows to use the most accurate assumptions and parameters for the model calculations and vice versa, model predictions can be directly tested in experiments.