Figure 1.

General scheme of the various steps and regulators involved in the trafficking of ion channels. Ion channels are targeted to the plasma membrane via the anterograde and recycling pathways (red arrows). Once targeted to a specialized domain of the membrane, ion channels are stabilized by anchoring partners/associate subunits to be functional (green). Then, signals for internalization (blue arrows) lead to either degradation or recycling. PM, plasma membrane; EE, early endosome; LE, late endosome; ECM, extracellular matrix; RE, recycling endosome; GC, Golgi complex; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; SV, secretory vesicle.