A dynamic model for intracellular calcium response in fibroblasts induced by electrical stimulation

• We propose a dynamic model to quantify Ca2+ dynamics in fibroblasts by electric stimulation.
• Dynamic modeling for stretch-activated Ca2+ channels by electric stimulation is proposed.
• Hill function is used to model the effect of the intensity of stimulus.
• A Butterworth low-pass filter describes “window characteristic” of field frequency effect.

Regulation of intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]in) in fibroblasts induced by exogenous electrical stimulation could be applied to control gene expressions selectively which in turn modulate the function of the fibroblasts. Regarding the mechanism for electric-field-induced Ca2+ influx via voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and/or stretch-activated cation channels in the fibroblasts, a dynamic mathematical model is proposed to quantify the [Ca2+]in dynamics in response to direct current or alternating current electric fields. Simulation results demonstrate that the changes in [Ca2+]in predicted by our dynamic model are consistent with the experimental data in the literature. The proposed dynamic model could provide not only more insights into the electric-field-induced intracellular Ca2+ response but also a quantitative way to regulate the [Ca2+]in dynamics by controlling the external electrical stimulation.