A mathematical model of whole-body potassium regulation: Global parameter sensitivity analysis

Abstract

Potassium (K+) is an essential electrolyte that is tightly regulated by various complex physiological mechanisms. In this study, we analyze a mathematical model of whole-body K+ regulation to investigate the sensitivity of different model outcomes to parameter values. We used the Morris method, a global sensitivity analysis technique, to evaluate the impact of the parameters on both steady state results and transient simulations during a single-meal. Our results shows that the most influential parameters and processes depend on what you are measuring. Specifically, steady state results relied primarily on parameters that were involved in kidney function, while transient results relied on hormonal feedback mechanisms. This study shows that our mathematical model of whole-body potassium regulation captures known physiological function of potassium regulation despite a large number of uncertain parameters. MSC codes68Q25, 68R10, 68U05