A first-passage approach to diffusion-influenced reversible binding and its insights into nanoscale signaling at the presynapse.

ABSTRACT: Synaptic transmission between neurons is governed by a cascade of stochastic calcium ion reaction-diffusion events within nerve terminals leading to vesicular release of neurotransmitter. Since experimental measurements of such systems are challenging due to their nanometer and sub-millisecond scale, numerical simulations remain the principal tool for studying calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release driven by electrical impulses, despite the limitations of time-consuming calculations. In this paper, we develop an analytical solution to rapidly explore dynamical stochastic reaction-diffusion problems based on first-passage times. This is the first analytical model that accounts simultaneously for relevant statistical features of calcium ion diffusion, buffering, and its binding/unbinding

SUBMITTER: Reva M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7940439 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature