Rat brain Na+ channel mRNAs in non-excitable Schwann cells

The expression of rat brain voltage-sensitive Na+ channel mRNAs in Schwann cells was examined using in situ hybridization cytochemistry and RT-PCR. The mRNAs of rat brain Na+ channel subtype II and III, but not subtype I, were detected in cultured Schwann cells from sciatic nerve and in intact sciatic nerve, which contains Schwann cells but not neuronal cell bodies. These results indicate that rat brain Na+ channel mRNAs, which have been considered as mainly neuronal-type messages, are also expressed in glial cells in vitro and in vivo.