This article details a surgical procedure for renal denervation in anesthetized adult mice to study the effects on blood pressure regulation. The method involves careful dissection and application of a phenol-ethanol solution to disrupt sympathetic nerve signals.
Secure an anesthetized adult mouse with a shaved abdomen.
This mouse exhibits elevated blood pressure (hypertension) following infusion of angiotensin II.
Disinfect the abdomen and make a midline incision.
Gently pull out the intestine with saline-soaked gauze to expose the left renal artery.
Carefully remove the fat surrounding the renal artery.
Cover and wrap the renal artery with equally sized phenol-ethanol solution-soaked weighing papers. Place gauze around the surrounding organs to protect them from the solution's effects.
When applied to the renal artery, the phenol-ethanol solution penetrates and destroys the sympathetic nerve fibers surrounding the artery, causing denervation.
Repeat the denervation procedure for the right renal artery.
Next, retract the intestines and abdominal muscles.
Suture the surgical incision and allow the mouse to recover.
Renal denervation disrupts sympathetic nerve signals, reducing the kidneys' influence on blood pressure regulation and significantly lowering overall blood pressure.
Place the mouse on the operating table, keep the abdomen up, and fix the limbs with tape. Disinfect the abdominal skin with povidone iodine followed by 3 wipes with 70% ethanol. After making a 2 centimeter ventral midline abdominal incision, pull back the intestine with gauze soaked in 37 degrees Celsius saline.
To expose the left renal artery, carefully, but bluntly, dissect the fat away from the renal artery using curved tweezers. Using sterile sharp scissors, cut the weighing paper into a rectangle of the same size as the renal artery. Cut several pieces of the weighing paper at a time to keep the shape same.
Dip the weighing paper in 10% phenol ethanol solution for at least 30 seconds. Cover the surface of the left renal artery, and wrap the vessel with the weighing paper for 2 minutes. Use gauze to protect the surrounding tissues to avoid the weighing paper from touching the kidney and intestine.
Repeat the same procedure for the right renal artery. After surgery, reposition the muscles into their initial position and close the peritoneum with 6-0 vicryl sutures in an interrupted suture pattern. Then close the skin with interrupted 4-0 nylon sutures. Monitor all mice until fully recovered.
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