Modeling of calcium sparks in heart cells. 2D calcium diffusion problem

Abstract

Spontaneous local calcium releases (sparks) from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in heart cell were modeled. We solved two-dimensional problem of Ca2+ diffusion along the dyadic space and “domino-like” activation of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) on the membrane of SR. We purpose results of the numerical experiments investigating sparks initiation, spread and termination. We discovered different regimes of the Ca2+ release unit behavior for different values of the release unit model and found out conditions for spark formation violations.