Effect of acupuncture on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related factors in hippocampus of post-traumatic stress disorder rats

Abstract

To observe the effect of acupuncture on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related molecules glucose regulated protein 78 kD (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-12 (Caspase-12) and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3)in the hippocampus of rats with post-traumatic stress disorder, so as to explore the possible mechanism of acupuncture in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twenty-eight SD rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, acupuncture and sertraline groups, with 7 rats in each group. The PTSD rat model was established by single prolonged stress. After modeling, acupuncture was applied to "Baihui" (GV20) and "Dazhui" (GV14) for rats of the acupuncture group for 10 min, once a day for 7 days. Sertraline (10 mg/kg) was given by gavage to rats of the sertraline group daily for 7 days. Rats' behavior was assessed by open field test and novelty-suppressed test. The mRNA expression levels of GRP78 and CHOP in the hippocampus were detected by real-time PCR. The expression le-vels of Caspase-12 and Caspase-3 in the hippocampus were detected by Western blot. Compared with the normal control group, the rearing and crossing times were decreased (P<0.05), the time remaining in the central zone and the total distance of movement were significantly reduced (P<0.01, P<0.05), the time of entering the central area for the first time was significantly increased (P<0.01), the latency of the novelty-suppressed feeding was significantly increased (P<0.05) in the model group, meanwhile the expression level of GRP78 and CHOP mRNAs, Caspase-12 and Caspase-3 proteins in the hippocampus were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). In comparison with the model group, the crossing times, the time remaining in the central zone and total distance of movement were increased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01), while the time of entering the central area for the first time, the expression levels of GRP78 and CHOP mRNAs, and Caspase-12 protein in the hippocampus were obviously decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the acupuncture and sertraline groups. In addition, the rearing times were increased significantly (P<0.05), the latency of the novelty-suppressed feeding and the expression of Caspase-3 were decreased significantly (P<0.05) in the sertraline group than in the model group. Acupuncture can significantly down-regulate the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related molecules GRP78, CHOP and Caspase-12 in PTSD rats, which may be one of the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating PTSD.