Standardization of methods to record Vagus nerve activity in mice

Background: The vagus nerve plays an important role in the regulation of organ function, including reflex pathways that regulate immunity and inflammation. Recent studies using genetically modified mice have improved our understanding of molecular mechanisms in the neural control of immunity. However, mapping neural signals transmitted in the vagus nerve in mice has been limited by technical challenges. Here, we have standardized an experimental protocol to record compound action potentials transmitted in the vagus nerve.

Methods: The vagus nerve was isolated in Balb/c and B6.129S mice, and placed either on a hook or cuff electrode. The electrical signals from the vagus nerve were digitized using either a Neuralynx or Plexon data acquisition system. Changes in the vagus nerve activity in response to anesthesia, feeding and administration of bacterial endotoxin were analyzed.

Results: We have developed an electrophysiological recording system to record compound action potentials from the cervical vagus nerve in mice. Cuff electrodes significantly reduce background noise and increase the signal to noise ratio as compared to hook electrodes. Baseline vagus nerve activity varies in response to anesthesia depth and food intake. Analysis of vagus neurograms in different mouse strains (Balb/c and C57BL/6) reveal no significant differences in baseline activity. Importantly, vagus neurogramactivity in wild type and TLR4 receptor knock out mice exhibits receptor dependency of endotoxin mediated signals.

Conclusions: These methods for recording vagus neurogram in mice provide a useful tool to further delineate the role of vagus neural pathways in a standardized murine disease model.