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May 10, 2026SLEEP

0283 Aging Impact on SubC and A7 Noradrenergic Innervation of the Hypoglossal Nucleus may Contribute to the Increased Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

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Randomized trial investigates aging effects on noradrenergic innervation in mice, suggesting implications for obstructive sleep apnea.

This research aims to understand how aging affects noradrenergic innervation of the hypoglossal nucleus, which may contribute to obstructive sleep apnea.
Young (6-7 months; n=13) and aged (20-28 months; n=8) mice received AAV8 injections targeting A7 and SubC nuclei.
Four weeks post-injection, mice underwent perfusion and brainstem sections were analyzed using immunohistochemistry to count ChR2-transduced neurons and axonal projections.
Linear regression and one-way ANCOVA were employed to assess the relationship between age and axonal projections to the hypoglossal nucleus.
Aged mice showed significant loss of A7 axonal projections to the hypoglossal nucleus (slope=-0.30 vs. 1.92 in young mice) at AP-7.48 (p=0.046).
SubC innervation in aged mice were unchanged at AP-7.2 and increased at AP-7.48 (p=0.045) and AP-7.76 (p=0.021).
Total ChR2-positive axonal projections correlated positively with ChR2-positive neurons in both age groups (R2=0.66, p<0.001).

Jackson et al. (2026) studied this question.

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