Bilateral Vagotomy as a Tool for Determining Autonomic Involvement in Airway Responses in Mouse Models of Asthma

This chapter describes the use of bilateral vagotomy as a tool for determining autonomic regulation of airway responses to the exogenous bronchoconstrictor thromboxane mimetic U46619 in an acute model of asthma in the mouse. Mice receive a sensitization of ovalbumin (OVA) and adjuvant followed by 3 days of OVA aerosol to induce allergic airway disease characterized by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) eosinophilia, increased mucus production, and elevated IgE and IL-13. Using a small animal ventilator (Flexi-vent) and the forced oscillatory technique fit to the constant phase model of the lung, a variety of features associated with human asthma can be evaluated in mouse models. For example, this protocol describes the methods to evaluate central and peripheral airway mechanics, airway resistance (R _aw ) and tissue damping (G ), and tissue elastance (H ) in response to U46619. The contribution of autonomic nerves in this response is determined by severing both the left and right vagus nerves prior to aerosol challenge.