FIG. 1.

VAChT mutant mice present heart failure. (A) VAChT and CHT1 immunoreactivity in neurons of adult WT and VAChT KD^HOM mouse intracardiac ganglia. Note the reduction in immunofluorescence for VAChT. There was no decrease in immunoreactivity in nodal ganglia of VAChT KD^HOM stained with an antibody against the high-affinity choline transporter (CHT1). Blue labeling corresponds to nuclei stained with DAPI that seem to predominantly label glial cells. Arrowheads indicate some of the neuronal cell bodies in the ganglia. Bar = 20 μm. (B) Left ventricle function (as assessed by contractility index) in VAChT KD^HOM mice (black bars) and WT mice (white bars). VAChT mutant mouse hearts had decreased contractility indexes and lower absolute responses to ISO. n, number of mice; *, P value of <0.05 in comparison with the WT.