Studying calcium signalling in neurodegenerative diseases through a computational approach

Calcium ions coordinate multiple cellular functions, among which the release of neurotransmitters, the gene expression, the regulation of inflammatory processes and the activation of apoptosis. The regulation of calcium metabolism, which involves several biochemical pathways and different sub-cellular compartments, is strongly compromised during aging. In fact, alterations of the calcium signalling process are frequent in the neurodegenerative diseases and mainly result in the hyper-activation of the apoptotic process. An integrative mathematical model has been defined to represent the calcium metabolism to understand molecular alterations occurring in neurodegenerative diseases. Through the simulation of different pathological conditions especially at molecular level, we are able to highlight the differences about the calcium homeostasis in normal and pathological states.