Background Small conductance calcium activated potassium (SK) channels are responsible for afterhyperpolarization that suppresses nerve discharges. Objectives To test the hypotheses that low-level vagus nerve stimulation (LL-VNS) leads to the upregulation of SK2 proteins in the LSG. Methods Six dogs (Group 1) underwent 1-wk LL-VNS of the left cervical vagus nerve. Five normal dogs (Group 2) were used as control. SK2 protein levels were examined by western blotting. The ratio between SK2 and glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH) levels was used as an arbitrary unit (AU). Results We found higher SK2 expression in Group 1 (0.124 ± 0.049 AU) than Group 2 (0.085 ± 0.031 AU, P < 0.05). Immunostaining showed that the density of nerve structures stained with SK2 antibody was also higher in Group 1 (11,546 ± 7,271 μm2/mm2) than in Group 2 (5,321 ± 3,164 μm2/mm2, P < 0.05). There were significantly more ganglion cells without immunoreactivity to TH in Group 1 (11.4 ± 2.3%) than Group 2 (4.9 ± 0.7%; P < 0.05). The TH-negative ganglion cells mostly stained positive for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (95.9 ± 2.8% in Group 1 and 86.1 ± 4.4% in Group 2, P = 0.10). Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy revealed a significant decrease in the SK2 staining in the cytosol but an increase in the SK2 staining on the membrane of the ganglion cells in Group 1 compared to Group 2. Conclusion Left LL-VNS results in the upregulation of SK2 proteins, increased SK2 protein expression in the cell membrane and the increased TH-negative (mostly ChAT-positive) ganglion cells in the LSG. These changes may underlie the antiarrhythmic efficacy of LL-VNS in ambulatory dogs.
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