Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 December 2012
Mitochondria are one of the most important organelles determining Ca2+regulatory pathway in the cell. Recent experiments suggested the existence of cytosolicmicrodomains with locally elevated calcium concentration (CMDs) in the nearest vicinity ofthe outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). These intermediate physical connections betweenendoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochodria are called MAM (mitochondria-associated ERmembrane) complexes.
The aim of this paper is to take into account the direct calcium flowfrom ER to mitochondria implied by the existence of MAMs and perform detailed numericalanalysis of the influence of this flow on the type and shape of calcium oscillations.Depending on the permeability of MAMs interface and ER channels, different patterns ofoscillations appear (simple, bursting and chaotic). For some parameters the oscillatorypattern disappear and the system tends to a steady state with extremely high calcium levelin mitochondria, which can be interpreted as a crucial point at the beginning of anapoptotic pathway.