Fig. 8: Reflex tear secretion with SNS activation and inhibition. | Nature Communications

Fig. 8: Reflex tear secretion with SNS activation and inhibition.

From: A gatekeeper sympathetic control of lacrimal tear secretion and dry eye onset through the NA-Adra1a-Ucp2 pathway

Fig. 8

a Schematic diagram of brain LC activation by AAV9-hSyn-DIO-hM3Dq-EGFP injection in LC of Th-cre mice. Created in BioRender. Wang, Q. (2025) https://BioRender.com/bv59m6f. b Representative images and quantitative analysis of c-FOS+TH+ neurons in LC after chemogenetic manipulation (n = 5 mice per group, P < 0.0001). Scale bar, 100 μm. c In vivo electrophysiological recordings of LC neurons in hM3Dq mice. Representative roster trace (upper panel) and rate histogram (lower panel) of LC neurons in mice 1 hour after CNO or NaCl injection. d Dynamics of reflex tear secretion after corneal irritation with nylon thread (hM3Dq-NaCl: n = 8 eyes, hM3Dq-CNO: n = 12 eyes. 0 min P = 0.0028, 1 min P = 0.0049, 3 min P = 0.0905). e Dynamics of reflex tear secretion after carbachol treatment (hM3Dq-NaCl: n = 8 eyes, hM3Dq-CNO: n = 11 eyes. 8 min P = 0.0446, 15 min P = 0.0088, 45 min P = 0.3172, 60 min P = 0.7816). f Schematic diagram of SNS ablation by superior cervical sympathectomy (SCGx). Created in BioRender. Wang, Q. (2025) https://BioRender.com/numw4qn. g Dynamics of reflex tear secretion after corneal irritation with nylon thread (n = 4 mice per group, 0 min P = 0.0397, 1 min P = 0.8128, 3 min P = 0.8896). h Dynamics of stimulated tear secretion after carbachol treatment (n = 6 mice per group, 15 min P = 0.4523, 30 min P = 0.0046, 60 min P = 0.8350). Data are shown as mean ± SEM. The significance of differences was detected using unpaired two-sided Student’s t test (b, d, e, g, h), *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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