TY - JOUR
T1 - Mathematical properties of pump-leak models of cell volume control and electrolyte balance
AU - Mori, Yoichiro
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Homeostatic control of cell volume and intracellular electrolyte content is a fundamental problem in physiology and is central to the functioning of epithelial systems. These physiological processes are modeled using pump-leak models, a system of differential algebraic equations that describes the balance of ions and water flowing across the cell membrane. Despite their widespread use, very little is known about their mathematical properties. Here, we establish analytical results on the existence and stability of steady states for a general class of pump-leak models. We treat two cases. When the ion channel currents have a linear current-voltage relationship, we show that there is at most one steady state, and that the steady state is globally asymptotically stable. If there are no steady states, the cell volume tends to infinity with time. When minimal assumptions are placed on the properties of ion channel currents, we show that there is an asymptotically stable steady state so long as the pump current is not too large. The key analytical tool is a free energy relation satisfied by a general class of pump-leak models, which can be used as a Lyapunov function to study stability.
AB - Homeostatic control of cell volume and intracellular electrolyte content is a fundamental problem in physiology and is central to the functioning of epithelial systems. These physiological processes are modeled using pump-leak models, a system of differential algebraic equations that describes the balance of ions and water flowing across the cell membrane. Despite their widespread use, very little is known about their mathematical properties. Here, we establish analytical results on the existence and stability of steady states for a general class of pump-leak models. We treat two cases. When the ion channel currents have a linear current-voltage relationship, we show that there is at most one steady state, and that the steady state is globally asymptotically stable. If there are no steady states, the cell volume tends to infinity with time. When minimal assumptions are placed on the properties of ion channel currents, we show that there is an asymptotically stable steady state so long as the pump current is not too large. The key analytical tool is a free energy relation satisfied by a general class of pump-leak models, which can be used as a Lyapunov function to study stability.
KW - Cell volume control
KW - Differential algebraic system
KW - Electrolyte balance
KW - Free energy
KW - Lyapunov function
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U2 - 10.1007/s00285-011-0483-8
DO - 10.1007/s00285-011-0483-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 22042535
AN - SCOPUS:84867736469
VL - 65
SP - 875
EP - 918
JO - Journal of Mathematical Biology
JF - Journal of Mathematical Biology
SN - 0303-6812
IS - 5
ER -