Objective: To explore the possible mechanism of dry and uncomfortable larynx in patients with vocal cord paralysis by analyzing the expression characteristics of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in the epithelium of vocal cords and ventricular bands after laryngeal nerve transection.
Methods: Nine adult male Beagle dogs were selected to prepare three kinds of unilateral nerve transection models (superior laryngeal nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve, and vagus nerve transection models), and they were divided into three groups respectively (superior laryngeal nerve transection group, recurrent laryngeal nerve transection group, and vagus nerve transection group). Four months later, the vocal cords and ventricular bands of the larynx were removed by surgery for AQP1 fluorescence imaging respectively. The fluorescence intensity parameters of AQP1 were obtained, and the ratio of the fluorescence intensity of AQP1 on the affected side to that on the healthy side was calculated. The paired t-test was used to compare the differences in the fluorescence intensity parameters of AQP1 between the affected side and the healthy side of the larynx, and the one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the differences in the two parameters among the three groupsResults: The fluorescence intensity of AQP1 on the affected side of the larynx was lower than that on the healthy side, and the difference was statistically significant (P 0.05). Comparing the ratio of the fluorescence intensity of the affected side to that of the healthy side of the larynx, except that there was no statistical significance between the recurrent laryngeal nerve transection group and the vagus nerve transection group (P > 0.05), the differences among the other groups were statistically significant (P 0.05). Comparing the ratio of the fluorescence intensity of AQP1 on the affected side to that on the healthy side of the larynx, there was no statistical significance between the vocal cord and the ventricular band (P > 0.05)Conclusion: The fluorescence intensity of AQP1 decreases after nerve injury. The recurrent laryngeal nerve and the vagus nerve have the same degree of influence on the expression of AQP1 in the larynx. There is almost no significant difference in the expression of AQP1 between the vocal cord and the ventricular band, and the change rule of the expression of AQP1 on the voal cord and the ventricular band is consistent after laryngeal nerve injury.