Nano-scale solution of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations in a fraction of two neighboring cells reveals the magnitude of intercellular electrochemical waves
Fig 9
The potential, ϕ, in the extracellular space between the two cells in simulations with open Na+ channel clusters on the membrane of the pre-junctional cell.
The width of the extracellular space, Le, and the size of the Na+ channel cluster is varied in the columns and rows of the figure, respectively. The plots show the solution in the (x, y)-plane for the center of the domain in the z-direction at the point in time when the deviation from rest is largest. This time point (defined as the time after the Na+ channel is opened) is specified in the upper right corner of each plot. In the y-direction, we focus on the 50 nm closest to the Na+ channel clusters. The coordinates on the axes are shifted so that x = 0 marks the end of the membrane of the pre-junctional cell and y = 0 marks the center of the Na+ channel cluster. Note that the scaling of the colorbar is different for the different cases.