The nodes of Ranvier have clustered Na⁺ and K⁺ channels necessary for rapid and efficient axonal action potential conduction. However, detailed mechanisms of channel clustering have only recently been identified: they include two independent axon–glia interactions that converge on distinct axonal cytoskeletons. Here, we discuss how glial cell adhesion molecules and the extracellular matrix molecules that bind them assemble combinations of ankyrins, spectrins and other cytoskeletal scaffolding proteins, which cluster ion channels. We present a detailed molecular model, incorporating these overlapping mechanisms, to explain how the nodes of Ranvier are assembled in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Ranvier 的节点聚集了快速有效的轴突动作电位传导所需的Na ⁺和 K ⁺通道。然而，通道聚类的详细机制直到最近才被确定：它们包括两个独立的轴突-神经胶质相互作用，它们会聚在不同的轴突细胞骨架上。在这里，我们讨论神经胶质细胞粘附分子和结合它们的细胞外基质分子如何组装锚蛋白、血影蛋白和其他细胞骨架支架蛋白的组合，这些蛋白聚集离子通道。我们提出了一个详细的分子模型，结合了这些重叠机制，以解释 Ranvier 的节点如何在外周和中枢神经系统中组装。