Antigenic differences among the voltage-sensitive sodium channels in the peripheral and central nervous systems and skeletal muscle

Abstract

Antisera prepared against the voltage-sensitive sodium channel purified from rat brain are able to distinguish antigenic differences between the sodium channels in peripheral nerve tissue, the central nervous system, and in skeletal muscle. These results indicate that, in spite of many well-documented similarities among the sodium channels of all excitable tissues, there are biochemical differences that may prove important in future studies of the regulation and molecular mechanisms of electrical excitability.