Immunoblotting, ultrastructural immunocytochemistry, and tritiated saxitoxin ([3H]STX) binding experiments were used to study sodium channel localization in Schwann cells. Polyclonal antibody 7493, which is directed against purified sodium channels from rat brain, specifically recognizes a 260-kDa protein corresponding to the alpha subunit of the sodium channel in immunoblots of crude glycoproteins from rat sciatic nerve. Electron microscopic localization of sodium channel immunoreactivity within adult rat sciatic nerves reveals heavy staining of the axon membrane at the node of Ranvier, in contrast to the internodal axon membrane, which does not stain. Schwann cells including perinodal processes also exhibit antibody 7493 immunoreactivity, localized within both the cytoplasm and the plasmalemma of the Schwann cell. To examine further the possibility that sodium channels are localized within Schwann cell cytoplasm, [3H]STX binding was studied in cultured rabbit Schwann cells, both intact and after homogenization. Saturable binding of STX was significantly higher in homogenized Schwann cells (410 +/- 37 fmol/mg of protein) than in intact Schwann cells (214 +/- 21 fmol/mg of protein). Moreover, the equilibrium dissociation constant was higher for homogenized preparations (1.77 +/- 0.37 nM) than for intact Schwann cells (1.06 +/- 0.29 nM). These data suggest the presence of an intracellular pool of sodium channels or channel precursors in Schwann cells.