Acupuncture Reduces Acute Cerebral Ischemia by Suppressing Local and Peripheral Inflammation and Regulating Expression of Cerebral Protein Silent Information Regulator Factor 2-related Enzyme 1 and Nuclear Factor-κB in Rats

Abstract

To observe the effect of acupuncture on the expression of silent information regulator factor 2-related enzyme 1 (SIRT 1) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in rats with acute cerebral ischemia (ACI), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of ACI. One hundred female SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: normal control (normal), sham-operation (sham), model, non-acupoint and acupoint, with 20 rats in each. The ACI model was established by occlusion (electric coagulation) of the middle cerebral artery after craniotomy. "Baihui" (GV 20) and "Shuigou" (GV 26) or non-acupoints were punctured with filiform needles which were retained for 30 min after rotating for 1 min. The treatment was conducted once after modeling and 24 h thereafter. The cerebral infarct volume was measured after 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The contents of interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and ischemic brain tissue were detected by radioimmunoassay, and the expression of protein SIRT 1 and NF-κB p 65 in the ischemic brain tissue was detected by immunoblotting. The brain infarction volume was obvious in the model group in comparison with the normal group (P<0.01), but was markedly reduced in the acupoint group relevant to the model group (P<0.05). The contents of IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and ischemic brain tissues, and the expression level of cerebral NF-κB p 65 protein were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the expression of cerebral SIRT 1 was obviously decreased in the model group compared with the normal group (P<0.01). Following acupuncture intervention, the increased IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 contents and NF-κB p 65 expression were considerably down-regulated, and the decreased SIRT 1 expression was markedly up-regulated in the acupuncture acupoint group (P<0.05). No significant changes were found in the levels of all the indexes mentioned above between the normal and sham groups (P>0.05). Acupuncture intervention at acupoints can reduce the ischemic infarction volume in ACI rats, which may be associated with its effects in down-regulating the levels of IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and ischemic brain tissue, and in regulating cerebral SIRT 1/NF-κB signaling.