Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 6 pp 5318—5335

Figure 6. Subdiaphragmatic vagus nerve served as a bridge between gut microbiota and spleen after postoperative sleep-restriction (SR). (A) Western blotting analysis of splenic trefoil factor 2 (TFF2) expression in pseudo-germ-free mouse received fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) with feces of SR mice, dexmedetomidine (Dex)-treated SR mice or Dex-treated SR mice with sub-diaphragmatic vagotomy (SDV). (B) Spleen weight in pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT with feces of SR mice, Dex-treated SR mice or Dex-treated SR mice with SDV. (C) Flow cytometry analysis of spleen for CD11b⁺ Gr-1⁺ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT with feces of SR mice, Dex-treated SR mice or Dex-treated SR mice with SDV. (D) The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay of the levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and Granzyme B (GrB) in splenic CD8⁺ T cells from pseudo-germ-free mouse received FMT with feces of SR mice, Dex-treated SR mice or Dex-treated SR mice with SDV. All data represent mean ± SEM, n = 5; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01.