Development of a computational model for cellular pacemaking of gastrointestinal system

Results from recent experiments undertaken on tissue from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract suggests that the interstitial cells of cajal (ICC) are the pacemaker cells responsible for slow wave propagation. The pace-making mechanism of ICC networks is strongly dependant on intracellular spatial dynamics of Ca²⁺. A modeling framework has being developed to test the hypothesis of voltage-dependant Ca channels being responsible for the pace-making mechanism of ICC. The model consists of a coupled system of ordinary differential equations. Regional calcium conservation equations were applied to intra-cellular pools within the ICC framework. Future work with the model will fit parameters from experimental data. This model will also be used to form the basis of a GI tract slow wave computational model.