Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 6 pp 5318—5335

Figure 5. Dexmedetomidine (Dex) attenuated postoperative sleep-restriction (SR)-induced decrease in splenic trefoil factor 2 (TFF2) expression, increase in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) expansion and decrease in splenic CD8⁺ cells activity via improving gut microbiota disturbance. (A) Western blotting analysis of splenic TFF2 expression in sham-operated mice and pseudo-germ-free mouse received fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). (B) Spleen weight in sham-operated mice and pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT. (C, D) Flow cytometry analysis of spleen for CD11b⁺ Gr-1⁺ MDSCs in sham-operated mice and pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT. (E) The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay of the levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and Granzyme B (GrB) in splenic CD8⁺ T cells from sham-operated mice and pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT. All data represent mean ± SEM, n = 5; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01.