AB5204-50UL Sigma-AldrichAnti-Sodium Channel Antibody, Voltage Gated, Brain Type I

Previous studies have demonstrated an increased risk of epilepsy in patients with Alzheimer\'s disease (AD). Also, in many mouse models of AD, animals have spontaneous seizures and frequent epileptiform discharges (EDs). Abnormal function of sodium channels has been proposed to contribute to hyperexcitability in a manner suggesting that drugs that block sodium channels might exacerbate the condition. Here we addressed this question by investigating whether common antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) that block sodium channels, including carbamazepine (CBZ), phenytoin (DPH), or valproic acid (VPA) have any effect on spontaneous seizures or EDs in APdE9 mice. Mice were successively treated with vehicle, followed by CBZ (10mg/kg, t.i.d.), DPH (10mg/kg, t.i.d.), or VPA (260 mg/kg, b.i.d.) for 3d. After wash-out and new vehicle treatment, higher doses of CBZ (40 mg/kg, t.i.d.), DPH (40 mg/kg, t.i.d.), or VPA (400mg/kg, b.i.d.) were administered for 3d (DPH) or 5d (CBZ, VPA). During the entire experiment, mice were under continuous (24/7) video-EEG monitoring. Our data show that each treatment reduced the number of spontaneous electrographic EDs. VPA was the most effective by reducing the ED frequency below 50% of that at baseline in 75% of mice. Western blot analysis of the Na(v)1.1 protein levels in the ventral temporal cortex and the hippocampus did not reveal any differences between the genotypes. Under the conditions tested, sodium channel blocking AEDs suppressed epileptiform activity in APdE9 mice with increased amyloid pathology. Whether this applies to other mouse models of AD with different APP mutations and/or genetic background remains to be explored.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Type I and type III Na+ channels are localized mainly in neuronal cell bodies in mouse brain. Type II channels are preferentially localized in unmyelinated fiber tracts but are not detectable in normally myelinated fibers. In shiverer mice, which lack compact myelin due to a defect in the myelin basic protein gene, elevated expression of type II Na+ channels was observed in the hypomyelinated axons of large-caliber fiber tracts such as the corpus callosum, internal capsule, fimbria, fornix, corpus medullare of the cerebellum, and nigrostriatal pathway by immunocytochemical analysis with subtype-specific antibodies. No difference was observed in the localization of type I and type III Na+ channels between wild-type and shiverer mice. These findings support the hypothesis that type II Na+ channels are preferentially localized in axons of brain neurons and suggest that their density and localization are regulated by myelination. The selective increase in the number of type II channels in hypomyelinated fiber tracts may contribute to the hyperexcitable phenotype of the shiverer mouse.

Anti-peptide antibodies that distinguish between the rat brain sodium channel subtypes referred to as RI and RII were prepared and used to determine their relative expression in nerve and muscle tissues. Sodium channels purified from rat brain are approximately 18% RI and 80% RII. In brain, the RII subtype is preferentially expressed with RI/RII ratios ranging from 0.07 in the hippocampus to 0.17 in the cerebral cortex. The RI subtype is preferentially expressed in more caudal areas of the central nervous system with values of RI/RII of 0.98 for medulla oblongata and 2.2 for spinal cord. Expression of additional unidentified sodium channel subtype(s) is detected in midbrain, medulla, and spinal cord, and expression of unidentified sodium channel subtypes predominates over expression of RI and RII in retina and optic nerve. The RI and RII subtypes are primarily expressed in the central nervous system and are not detected in significant numbers in skeletal or cardiac muscle, sympathetic ganglia, adrenal medulla, sciatic nerve, or cauda equina. The RII subtype appears first in development of both brain and spinal cord but declines in adult spinal cord as the RI subtype increases. The strict regional expression of these two sodium channel subtypes suggests that they may have distinct functional properties or physiological roles.

The voltage-gated sodium channel is a transmembrane protein essential for the generation of action potentials in excitable cells. It has been reported that sodium channels purified from the electric organ of the electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, and from chick cardiac muscle consist of a single polypeptide of relative molecular mass (Mr) approximately 260,000, whereas those purified from rat brain and from rat and rabbit skeletal muscle contain, in addition to the large polypeptide, one or two smaller polypeptides of Mr 33,000-43,000. The primary structures of the Electrophorus sodium channel and two distinct sodium channel large polypeptides (designated as sodium channels I and II) from rat brain have been elucidated by cloning and sequencing the complementary DNAs. The purified sodium channel preparations from Electrophorus electroplax and from mammalian muscle and brain, when reconstituted into lipid vesicles or planar lipid bilayers, exhibit some functional activities. The successful reconstitution with the Electrophorus preparation would imply that the large polypeptide alone is sufficient to form functional sodium channels. However, studies with the rat brain preparation suggest that the smaller polypeptide of Mr 36,000 is also required for the integrity of the saxitoxin (STX) or tetrodotoxin (TTX) binding site of the sodium channel. Here we report that the messenger RNAs generated by transcription of the cloned cDNAs encoding the rat brain sodium channel large polypeptides, when injected into Xenopus oocytes, can direct the formation of functional sodium channels.