Immunocytochemical localization of the sodium, potassium activated ATPase in knifefish brain

Results presented in this paper demonstrate the feasibility of using immunocytochemical methods to localize the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, and its subunits, in the C.N.S. We have shown that in the Black Ghost knifefish, Sternarchus albifrons, the enzyme is located on the plasma membrane of the somata and dendrites of neurons and on the somata and cellular processes of glia. In myelinated axons the enzyme is restricted in localization to those portions of the axolemma not covered by the myelin sheath. The capacity of cell plasma membranes to restrict mobility of functionally important proteins should be considered in models of membrane structure in which lateral mobility of membrane components is considered a major characteristic.