Ion channel and receptor-mediated regulation of axonal conduction reliability in sympathetic preganglionic neurons

Sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) provide the sole spinal output to the peripheral sympathetic nervous system. Although sympathetic control is traditionally attributed to synaptic integration within the spinal cord and ganglia, the reliability of spike propagation along SPN axons themselves has received little attention. Here, and in companion papers, we show that axonal conduction in adult mouse thoracic SPNs is highly modifiable and constitutes a critical site of sympathetic gain control. Using an ex vivo preparation preserving intact paravertebral and splanchnic pathways while blocking synaptic transmission, we recorded compound action potentials evoked across multiple ganglia. Slower-conducting, unmyelinated SPN axons, particularly those with branching axons traversing the interganglionic nerve (IGN), exhibited pronounced, temperature-dependent conduction failures. Elevation of temperature produced membrane hyperpolarization and loss of conduction, consistent with activation of temperature-sensitive K₂P leak channels, as supported by pharmacological evidence. Pharmacological activation of TREK-family channels with riluzole or arachidonic acid preferentially suppressed conduction in these axons. In contrast, blockade of voltage-gated K⁺ channels with 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) robustly facilitated conduction, recruited previously silent axons, and restored propagation under conditions of temperature-induced failure. Surprisingly, tetraethylammonium (TEA) block of K⁺ channels were without effect or depressant. Transmitter systems further shaped axonal reliability: agonists and antagonists of GABA_A receptors, as well as cholinergic manipulations, selectively depressed conduction in slow, branching axons. Together, these findings establish SPN axons, particularly slow-conducting branching fibers, as an active and dynamically regulated substrate for sympathetic output control, revealing a presynaptic mechanism with implications for autonomic physiology and disease.