{
  "abstract": "Long-range intercellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling coordinates biological processes ranging from fertilization to contraction and cell death. The classical model attributes this long-range propagation to rapid diffusion of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) through gap junctions. However, recent evidence that IP3 diffuses far more slowly than previously believed, and that Ca2+ oscillations persist even when gap junctions are disassembled, indicates that an alternative mechanism must sustain long-range communication. Here we develop a computational model showing that local coupling between neighboring cells is sufficient to generate and propagate regenerative Ca2+ oscillations across a cell population without fast molecular diffusion. Each cell is treated as an oscillator whose intrinsic frequency is set by its local IP3 concentration through an IP3-dependent refractory period, and neighboring cells are coupled using a Kuramoto nearest-neighbor framework. In a dual-stiffness regime, cells on a stiff extracellular matrix entrain their soft-matrix neighbors, producing an offset traveling wave of Ca2+ release. This reproduces the finite spatial range of influence (~8 cell lengths) observed experimentally. Our findings propose a diffusion-independent paradigm for calcium signaling in which local intercellular coupling drives long-range communication, offering insight into how localized ECM stiffening in asthma and fibrosis may produce systemic effects.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2607.21442",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Benjamin M. Goykadosh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Vasuretha Chandar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Harikrishnan Parameswaran"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/feg67y76zdfvr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2607.21442",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "feg67y76zdfvr",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.21442",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "q-bio.CB"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Connexins and lens biology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7170580383",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.21442",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-16",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/feg67y76zdfvr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:05Z",
      "native_id": "2607.21442",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.21442"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "arxiv:q-bio.CB",
      "subfield": "cell-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Local intercellular coupling is sufficient for long-range calcium signaling",
  "title_text": "Local intercellular coupling is sufficient for long-range calcium signaling",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:05Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/feg67y76zdfvr",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}