Autoradiographic localization of voltage-dependent sodium channels on the mouse neuromuscular junction using 125I-alpha scorpion toxin. I. Preferential labeling of glial cells on the presynaptic side.

Alpha-scorpion toxins bind specifically to the voltage-sensitive sodium channel in excitable membranes, and binding is potential-dependent (Catterall, 1984). The radioiodinated toxin II from the scorpion Androctonus australis Hector (alpha ScTx) was used to localize voltage-sensitive sodium channels on the presynaptic side of mouse neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) by autoradiography using both light and electron microscopy. Silver grain localization was analyzed by the cross-fire method. At the light-microscopic level, grain density over NMJ appeared 6-8x higher than over nonjunctional muscle membrane. The specificity of labeling was verified by competition/displacement with an excess of native alpha ScTx. Labeling was also inhibited by incubation in depolarizing conditions, showing its potential-dependence. At the electron-microscopic level, analysis showed that voltage-sensitive sodium channels labeled with alpha ScTx were almost exclusively localized on membranes, as expected. Due to washout after incubation, appreciable numbers of binding sites were not found on the postsynaptic membranes. However, on the presynaptic side, alpha ScTx-labeled voltage-sensitive sodium channels were localized on the membrane of non-myelin-forming Schwann cells covering NMJ. The axonal presynaptic membrane was not labeled. These results show that voltage-sensitive sodium channels are present on glial cells in vivo, as already demonstrated in vitro (Chiu et al., 1984; Schrager et al., 1985). It is proposed that these glial channels could be indirectly involved in the ionic homeostasis of the axonal environment.