Modeling of capsaicinª²sensitive sinoª²atrial node deafferented rat

    ZHANG Yanª²Hui, MA Aiª²Qun, XI Yuª²Tao

    1Department of Cardiology, First Hospital, Xi¬ðan Jiaotong University, Xi¬ðan 710061, China

    2Texas Heart Institute, Texas 77030, USA

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate the way to establish capsaicinª²sensitive sinoatrial node deafferented rat models. METHODS: High concentration of capsaicin was applied around rat superior vena cava. In the postoperative 3 d, 2 weeks, 1, 2 and 3 months, we observed the expressions of sinoatrial node afferent nerve transmitters [substance P (SP) and calcitonin geneª²related peptide (CGRP)] in the sinoatrial node area through immunoª²fluorescent staining and laser confocal microscopy. RESULTS: At planned time points after the deafferentation operation and the sham operation, immunohistochemistry showed CGRP positive nerve and SP positive nerve around the sinoatrial node artery in the shamª²operated rats, while there were no CGRP positive nerve and SP positive nerve in the sinoatrial node area of the deafª²ferented rats. CONCLUSION: Application of high concentration of capsaicin around rat superior vena cava can induce sinoatrial node deafferentation, which is a repeatable and stable method. ......