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Calcium plays a crucial role in excitation-contraction coupling (ECC), but it is also a pivotal second messenger activating Ca2+-dependent transcription factors in a process termed excitation-transcription coupling (ETC). Evidence accumulated over the past decade indicates a pivotal role of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R)-mediated Ca2+ release in the regulation of cytosolic and nuclear Ca2+ signals. IP3 is generated by stimulation of plasma membrane receptors that couple to phospholipase C (PLC), liberating IP3 from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). An intriguing aspect of IP3 signaling is the presence of the entire PIP2-PLC-IP3 signaling cascade as well as the presence of IP3Rs at the inner and outer membranes of the nuclear envelope (NE) which functions as a Ca2+ store. The observation that the nucleus is surrounded by its own putative Ca2+ store raises the possibility that nuclear IP3-dependent Ca2+ release plays a critical role in ETC. This provides a potential mechanism of regulation that acts locally and autonomously from the global cytosolic Ca2+ signal underlying ECC. Moreover, there is evidence that: (i) the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and NE are a single contiguous Ca2+ store; (ii) the nuclear pore complex is the major gateway for Ca2+ and macromolecules to pass between the cytosol and the nucleoplasm; (iii) the inner membrane of the NE hosts key Ca2+ handling proteins including the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX)/GM1 complex, ryanodine receptors (RyRs), nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate receptors (NAADPRs), Na+/K+ ATPase and Na+/H+ exchanger. Thus, it appears that the nucleus represents a Ca2+ signaling domain equipped with its own ion channels and transporters that allow for complex local Ca2+ signals. Many experimental and modeling approaches have been used for the study of intracellular Ca2+ signaling but the key to understanding of the dual role of Ca2+ mediating ECC and ECT lays in quantitative differences of local [Ca2+

The t-tubules of mammalian ventricular myocytes are invaginations of the cell membrane that occur at each Z-line. These invaginations branch within the cell to form a complex network that allows rapid propagation of the electrical signal, and hence synchronous rise of intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)). To investigate how the t-tubule microanatomy and the distribution of membrane Ca(2+) flux affect cardiac excitation-contraction coupling we developed a 3-D continuum model of Ca(2+) signaling, buffering and diffusion in rat ventricular myocytes. The transverse-axial t-tubule geometry was derived from light microscopy structural data. To solve the nonlinear reaction-diffusion system we extended SMOL software tool (http://mccammon.ucsd.edu/smol/). The analysis suggests that the quantitative understanding of the Ca(2+) signaling requires more accurate knowledge of the t-tubule ultra-structure and Ca(2+) flux distribution along the sarcolemma. The results reveal the important role for mobile and stationary Ca(2+) buffers, including the Ca(2+) indicator dye. In agreement with experiment, in the presence of fluorescence dye and inhibited sarcoplasmic reticulum, the lack of detectible differences in the depolarization-evoked Ca(2+) transients was found when the Ca(2+) flux was heterogeneously distributed along the sarcolemma. In the absence of fluorescence dye, strongly non-uniform Ca(2+) signals are predicted. Even at modest elevation of Ca(2+), reached during Ca(2+) influx, large and steep Ca(2+) gradients are found in the narrow sub-sarcolemmal space. The model predicts that the branched t-tubule structure and changes in the normal Ca(2+) flux density along the cell membrane support initiation and propagation of Ca(2+) waves in rat myocytes.