Investigation of K(ATP) channel endocytosis by immunofluorescence

Macroscopic ion channel currents (1) are a product of the channel open probability (P(o)), the single channel current (i) and the number of channels present on the cell surface (N) at any given time (I = P(o)iN). Intra-cellular trafficking pathways are proving to be of vital importance in regulating ion channel function since endocytosis, recycling and degradation all work in concert to maintain appropriate channel numbers on the cell surface. Immunofluorescence-based techniques provide a convenient and rapid method for the examination of these processes and have been used to investigate the intracellular trafficking of pancreatic ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels.