For understanding the cellular signal transduction from the viewpoint of Systems Biology, it is primary important to develop both the quantitative cell models and also methods for verification of the model. Visualization of the spatial and temporal changes for the intracellular signal trasduction may be one of the feasible approaches for Such mOdel verification. Recently, several sophisticated methods have been developed for visualizing intracellular substances including ions (K, Na, Mg, Ca, Zi and so on), gaseous molecules (oxygen and nitric monoxide). and second messengers (Ca, IP3, and cAMP)with optical recording techniques (conventional fluorescent microscopes with high-intensity CCD cameras and confocal laser scanning microscopes). To verify the model, perturbation of the intracellular signal trasduction and observation of the relaxation process is important. This kind of experiment is easy in the computer simulation but not in real cells. The promising methods are phtalysis of caged compounds that include the bioreactive substances and chromophore-assisted laser inactivation(CALI). I believe that the combination of the intracellular imaging and perturbation techniques will be an effective method to verify the simulation of a single cell model.

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