Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Engineering Microenvironments To Modulate Calcium Information Processing In Neuronal Cells, Kinsey Cotton Kelly

Doctoral Dissertations

Tissue engineered microenvironments were constructed to test the effects glial cells have on calcium information processing, and to mimic conditions in vivo for tumor invasion and residual cancer after resection of tumor. Submaximal, nM, glutamate (GLU) stimuli were applied to the engineered environments, and the resulting calcium dynamic behavior of neuronal cells was measured to help predict and interpret chaotic systems in the experimental realm. Calcium is a key signaling ion which signals through the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor on the neuronal membrane. GLU binding to the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) causes a large and dynamic increase in neuronal intracellular calcium. …