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Distribution and Functional Significance of Sodium and Potassium Channels in Normal and Acutely Demyelinated Mammalian Myelinated Nerve

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Neuronal-glial Cell Interrelationships

Part of the book series: Dahlem Workshop Reports Life Sciences Research Report ((DAHLEM LIFE,volume 20))

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Abstract

The density of sodium channels in the axonal membrane of normal mammalian nodes of Ranvier is much higher than in any other excitable tissue. In contrast, there are few if any potassium channels. However, experiments in which the myelin is acutely removed show that the internodal axonal membrane, which lacks sodium channels, is rich in potassium channels. This complementary distribution may, it is speculated, be related to the fact that the functional specialization of the mammalian fiber for rapid passage of impulses (high sodium channel density and low potassium channel density at the node) may require some stabilizing influence in the paranodal region to prevent re-entrant type phenomena (hence the internodal potassium channels).

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  1. Dept. of Pharmacology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    J. M. Ritchie

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T. A. Sears

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© 1982 Dr. S. Bernhard, Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin

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Ritchie, J.M. (1982). Distribution and Functional Significance of Sodium and Potassium Channels in Normal and Acutely Demyelinated Mammalian Myelinated Nerve. In: Sears, T.A. (eds) Neuronal-glial Cell Interrelationships. Dahlem Workshop Reports Life Sciences Research Report, vol 20. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68466-1_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68466-1_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-68468-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68466-1

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