A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation
Abstract The cardiac responses to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are still not fully understood, partly due to uncontrollable confounders in the in-vivo experimental condition. Therefore, an ex-vivo Langendorff-perfused rabbit heart with intact vagal innervation is proposed to study VNS in absence of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31135-4 |
| _version_ | 1797850112623378432 |
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| author | Bettina Kronsteiner Max Haberbusch Philipp Aigner Anne-Margarethe Kramer Patrick M. Pilz Bruno K. Podesser Attila Kiss Francesco Moscato |
| author_facet | Bettina Kronsteiner Max Haberbusch Philipp Aigner Anne-Margarethe Kramer Patrick M. Pilz Bruno K. Podesser Attila Kiss Francesco Moscato |
| author_sort | Bettina Kronsteiner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The cardiac responses to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are still not fully understood, partly due to uncontrollable confounders in the in-vivo experimental condition. Therefore, an ex-vivo Langendorff-perfused rabbit heart with intact vagal innervation is proposed to study VNS in absence of cofounding anesthetic or autonomic influences. The feasibility to evoke chronotropic responses through electrical stimulation ex-vivo was studied in innervated isolated rabbit hearts (n = 6). The general nerve excitability was assessed through the ability to evoke a heart rate (HR) reduction of at least 5 bpm (physiological threshold). The excitability was quantified as the charge needed for a 10-bpm HR reduction. The results were compared to a series of in-vivo experiments rabbits (n = 5). In the ex-vivo isolated heart, the baseline HR was about 20 bpm lower than in-vivo (158 ± 11 bpm vs 181 ± 19 bpm). Overall, the nerve remained excitable for about 5 h ex-vivo. The charges required to reduce HR by 5 bpm were 9 ± 6 µC and 549 ± 370 µC, ex-vivo and in-vivo, respectively. The charges needed for a 10-bpm HR reduction, normalized to the physiological threshold were 1.78 ± 0.8 and 1.22 ± 0.1, in-vivo and ex-vivo, respectively. Overall, the viability of this ex-vivo model to study the acute cardiac effects of VNS was demonstrated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:56:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b830620cb964b6d8a563e2e4a7991b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:56:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b830620cb964b6d8a563e2e4a7991b42023-04-09T11:12:20ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-03-0113111210.1038/s41598-023-31135-4A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulationBettina Kronsteiner0Max Haberbusch1Philipp Aigner2Anne-Margarethe Kramer3Patrick M. Pilz4Bruno K. Podesser5Attila Kiss6Francesco Moscato7Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of ViennaCenter for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of ViennaCenter for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of ViennaLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Cardiovascular ResearchLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Cardiovascular ResearchLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Cardiovascular ResearchLudwig Boltzmann Institute for Cardiovascular ResearchCenter for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of ViennaAbstract The cardiac responses to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are still not fully understood, partly due to uncontrollable confounders in the in-vivo experimental condition. Therefore, an ex-vivo Langendorff-perfused rabbit heart with intact vagal innervation is proposed to study VNS in absence of cofounding anesthetic or autonomic influences. The feasibility to evoke chronotropic responses through electrical stimulation ex-vivo was studied in innervated isolated rabbit hearts (n = 6). The general nerve excitability was assessed through the ability to evoke a heart rate (HR) reduction of at least 5 bpm (physiological threshold). The excitability was quantified as the charge needed for a 10-bpm HR reduction. The results were compared to a series of in-vivo experiments rabbits (n = 5). In the ex-vivo isolated heart, the baseline HR was about 20 bpm lower than in-vivo (158 ± 11 bpm vs 181 ± 19 bpm). Overall, the nerve remained excitable for about 5 h ex-vivo. The charges required to reduce HR by 5 bpm were 9 ± 6 µC and 549 ± 370 µC, ex-vivo and in-vivo, respectively. The charges needed for a 10-bpm HR reduction, normalized to the physiological threshold were 1.78 ± 0.8 and 1.22 ± 0.1, in-vivo and ex-vivo, respectively. Overall, the viability of this ex-vivo model to study the acute cardiac effects of VNS was demonstrated.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31135-4 |
| spellingShingle | Bettina Kronsteiner Max Haberbusch Philipp Aigner Anne-Margarethe Kramer Patrick M. Pilz Bruno K. Podesser Attila Kiss Francesco Moscato A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation Scientific Reports |
| title | A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| title_full | A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| title_fullStr | A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| title_short | A novel ex-vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| title_sort | novel ex vivo isolated rabbit heart preparation to explore the cardiac effects of cervical and cardiac vagus nerve stimulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31135-4 |
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