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Characterization of membrane potential dependency of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake by an improved biophysical model of mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter. PLoS One 2010 Oct 08;5(10):e13278

Date

10/16/2010

Pubmed ID

20949039

Pubmed Central ID

PMC2951907

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0013278

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-78149450143 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   20 Citations

Abstract

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter is the primary influx pathway for Ca(2+) into respiring mitochondria, and hence plays a key role in mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis. Though the mechanism of extra-matrix Ca(2+) dependency of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake has been well characterized both experimentally and mathematically, the mechanism of membrane potential (ΔΨ) dependency of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake has not been completely characterized. In this paper, we perform a quantitative reevaluation of a previous biophysical model of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter that characterized the possible mechanism of ΔΨ dependency of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake. Based on a model simulation analysis, we show that model predictions with a variant assumption (Case 2: external and internal Ca(2+) binding constants for the uniporter are distinct), that provides the best possible description of the ΔΨ dependency, are highly sensitive to variation in matrix [Ca(2+)], indicating limitations in the variant assumption (Case 2) in providing physiologically plausible description of the observed ΔΨ dependency. This sensitivity is attributed to negative estimate of a biophysical parameter that characterizes binding of internal Ca(2+) to the uniporter. Reparameterization of the model with additional nonnengativity constraints on the biophysical parameters showed that the two variant assumptions (Case 1 and Case 2) are indistinguishable, indicating that the external and internal Ca(2+) binding constants for the uniporter may be equal (Case 1). The model predictions in this case are insensitive to variation in matrix [Ca(2+)] but do not match the ΔΨ dependent data in the domain ΔΨ≤120 mV. To effectively characterize this ΔΨ dependency, we reformulate the ΔΨ dependencies of the rate constants of Ca(2+) translocation via the uniporter by exclusively redefining the biophysical parameters associated with the free-energy barrier of Ca(2+) translocation based on a generalized, non-linear Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz formulation. This alternate uniporter model has all the characteristics of the previous uniporter model and is also able to characterize the possible mechanisms of both the extra-matrix Ca(2+) and ΔΨ dependencies of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake. In addition, the model is insensitive to variation in matrix [Ca(2+)], predicting relatively stable physiological operation. The model is critical in developing mechanistic, integrated models of mitochondrial bioenergetics and Ca(2+) handling.

Author List

Pradhan RK, Qi F, Beard DA, Dash RK

Author

Ranjan K. Dash PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Biophysics
Calcium
Calcium Channels
Membrane Potentials
Mitochondria
Models, Theoretical