Sodium channels are scaffolded to neuronal membranes by ankyrins. While there has been quite a lot of research on interactions between sodium channels and ankyrins in axons, far less attention has been paid to how sodium channels are anchored to dendritic compartments. Here, Andrew Nelson leads a collaboration between us and the Jenkins Lab at the University of Michigan to determine which ankyrin scaffolds NaV1.2 channels to dendritic membranes of neocortical pyramidal cells. Turns out it's ankyrin-B. Why is that so cool? Well, deficits in either SCN2A or ANK2 are strongly associated with ASD. This suggests to us that their ASD association may be due to shared function in dendritic excitability.
Preprint can be found here: