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  4. Reconnecting the vagus nerve to the heart through nerve conduit preserves cardiac function in a minipig model of right cardiac vagotomy
 
research article

Reconnecting the vagus nerve to the heart through nerve conduit preserves cardiac function in a minipig model of right cardiac vagotomy

Dushpanova, Anar
•
Redolfi-Riva, Eugenio
•
Casieri, Valentina
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December 24, 2025
Science Translational Medicine

The right vagus nerve is essential for cardiac homeostasis, and its intrathoracic resection can lead to postoperative cardiac complications. Strategies to restore vagal innervation after transection at the cardiac level remain lacking. Here, we show that early reconnection of the right vagus nerve using an implantable chitosan/poly-ε-caprolactone cuff-like nerve guidance conduit preserved cardiac mechanical function in adult male minipigs subjected to right cardiac vagotomy. Treated animals displayed improved global circumferential, longitudinal, and radial strains and reduced diastolic dyssynchrony. Histological analysis revealed partial repair with about 20% viable vagal fascicles, restoration of myocardial parasympathetic fibers, normalization of oxidative stress and aging markers, and prevention of interstitial fibrosis. These findings suggest that maintaining even limited vagal input prevents early cardiac remodeling by mitigating oxidative stress–induced premature senescence of cardiac cells. Reconnection of the right vagus nerve with chitosan/poly-ε-caprolactone cuff-like nerve guidance conduit may represent a therapeutic approach to preventing right vagotomy–induced heart failure after thoracic surgery or cardiothoracic transplantation.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1126/scitranslmed.aea4306
Author(s)
Dushpanova, Anar

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Redolfi-Riva, Eugenio

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Casieri, Valentina

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Brogi, Letizia

Scuola Normale Superiore

Grigoratos, Chrysanthos

Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio

Bernini, Fabio

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Terlizzi, Domiziana

Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio

Gabisonia, Khatia

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Zinno, Ciro

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Agnesi, Filippo

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

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Date Issued

2025-12-24

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Published in
Science Translational Medicine
Volume

17

Issue

830

Article Number

eaea4306

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
TNE  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology

824071

NextGenerationEU

THE-Spoke 8 - M 8.3.3.

Available on Infoscience
December 29, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/257351
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