Monte Carlo simulation of the effects of vesicle geometry on calcium microdomains and neurotransmitter release

We investigate the effects of synaptic vesicle geometry on Ca2+ diffusion dynamics in presynaptic terminals using MCell, a realistic Monte Carlo algorithm that tracks individual molecules. By modeling the vesicle as a sphere and an oblate or a prolate spheroid with a reflective boundary, we measure the Ca2+ concentration at various positions relative to the vesicle. We find that the presence of a vesicle as a diffusion barrier modifies the shape of the [Ca2+] microdomain in the vicinity of the vesicle. Ca2+ diffusion dynamics also depend on the distance between the vesicle and the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) and on the shape of the vesicle. The oblate spheroidal vesicle increases the [Ca2+] up to six times higher than that in the absence of a vesicle, while the prolate spheroidal vesicle can increase the [Ca2+] only 1.4 times. Our results also show that the presence of vesicles that have different geometries can maximally influence the [Ca2+] microdomain when the vesicle is located less than 50 nm from VGCCs.