Volume 50: 425-432, 2001

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Mathematical Model of the Electromechanical Heart Contractile System - Regulatory Subsystem Physiological Considerations


M. MLČEK, J. NEUMANN, O. KITTNAR, V. NOVÁK


Institute of Physiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic


Received October 25, 2000
Accepted January 11, 2001


Summary
The biochemical model of excitation-contraction coupling in cardiomyocyte is presented and the validity of simulations of both physiological and pathological processes is discussed. The model of regulatory and actomyosin subsystems, even if it is rather simple in its regulatory subunit, gives results well consistent with experimental data. Specifically, intracellular free calcium levels ([Ca2+]i) were computed under various states of sarcoendoplasmic reticular Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2) and compared to experimental findings. Computed results reproduced well both the increase in resting [Ca2+]i level and the attenuation of [Ca2+]i decline commonly observed in heart failure. Thus the computational simulations could help to identify core relations in studied systems by comparing results obtained using similar models of various complexities.


Key words
Myocardial contraction · Excitation-contraction coupling · Simulations

 

Reprint requests
M. Mlček, Institute of Physiology, Charles University, Albertov 5, 120 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic. E-mail: mikulas.mlcek@lf1.cuni.cz


PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
© 2001 by the Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences

ISSN 0862 - 8408

Issue 4