Dissecting the Parasympathetic Neural Circuits of the Heart
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The autonomic nervous system carefully balances its sympathetic “fight or flight” and parasympathetic “rest and digest” divisions to mediate critical cardiopulmonary functions. Dysfunction between and within these divisions causes a broad range of disease, including heart failure, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here we examine postganglionic parasympathetic or intrinsic neurons, which are exceedingly rare and fragile and housed within the organ they innervate. Recent work has shown that activation of a major subset of cardiac intrinsic neurons by nucleus ambiguus cardiovascular (ACV) neurons evokes bradycardia, whereas activation of another subset of cardiac intrinsic neurons and lung intrinsic neurons that are jointly innervated by nucleus ambiguus cardiopulmonary (ACP) neurons evokes simultaneous bradycardia and bronchoconstriction1, demonstrating their role in controlling and coordinating critical cardiac and cardiopulmonary responses. Despite their functional importance, the molecular diversity and organization of these neural circuits, especially those under parasympathetic control, remain largely unknown. To characterize the anatomical, cellular, molecular, and functional properties of intrinsic lung and cardiac neurons, we use single-cell RNA- sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and single-molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization (smFISH). We reveal molecularly distinct populations of lung and cardiac intrinsic neurons and offer optimized protocols for procuring and analyzing these rare and fragile neurons. These studies aim to elucidate the characteristics and roles of intrinsic lung and cardiac neurons in mediating precise cardiopulmonary regulation and interrogate their interactions with neighboring neuronal populations.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Publication date | May 4, 2023 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Nguyen, Annie |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor | Krasnow, Mark |
| Thesis advisor | Bergmann, Dominique |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Biology |
Subjects
| Subject | parasympathetic |
|---|---|
| Subject | cardiopulmonary |
| Subject | Neural circuits |
| Subject | intrinsic cardiac neurons |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Nguyen, A. and Krasnow, M. (2024). Dissecting the Parasympathetic Neural Circuits of the Heart. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/gr697bn2589. https://doi.org/10.25740/gr697bn2589.
Collection
Undergraduate Theses, Department of Biology, 2022-2023
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- Contact
- annie999@stanford.edu
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