Abstract
Background. The therapeutic mechanisms of cerebral ischemia treatment by acupuncture are yet not well addressed. Objective. We investigated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at GV26 observing the expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclin-1 and LC3B and proportion of apoptotic cells and Bcl-2 positive cells in MCAO/R model rats. Methods. Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were randomly assigned to 7 groups: model groups (M6h, M24h, and M72h), EA treatment groups (T6h, T24h, and T72h), and sham operation group (S). Neurological deficit and cerebral infarction volume were measured to assess the improvement effect, while the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3B and proportion of Tunel-positive and Bcl-2 positive cells were examined to explore EA effect on autophagy and apoptosis. Results. EA significantly decreased neurological deficit scores and the volume of cerebral infarction. Beclin-1 was significantly decreased in T24h, while LC3B-II/LC3B-I ratio markedly reduced in 6th hour. EA groups markedly reduced the number of Tunel positive cells, especially in T24h. Meanwhile, the number of Bcl-2 positive cells obviously increased after EA treatment, especially in T6h and T24h. Conclusions. The alleviation of inadequate autophagy and apoptosis may be a key mechanism involved in the reflex regulation of EA at GV26 to treat cerebral ischemia.
Highlights
Cerebral ischemia is one of the most devastating types of stroke, which causes high rates of mortality, morbidity, and disability
Many studies have suggested that induced autophagy may be a promising neuroprotective strategy in cerebral ischemia, while others considered that either the absence of autophagy or inadequate autophagy may be a key step of cell death [8,9,10,11]
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine damage evaluation and cerebral infarction volume after EA on MCAO/R rats in the following 6th, 24th, and 72nd hour, where sham operation and model without EA were chosen as the control, and (2) to investigate the expression of Beclin1 and LC3B and proportion of Tunel-positive and Bcl-2 positive cells, trying to prove that EA treatment has beneficial effect by regulation of autophagy and apoptosis
Summary
Cerebral ischemia is one of the most devastating types of stroke, which causes high rates of mortality, morbidity, and disability. The possible mechanisms associated with the therapeutic effects of EA on cerebral ischemia include the influence on cell apoptosis. The therapeutic mechanisms of cerebral ischemia treatment by acupuncture are yet not well addressed. We investigated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at GV26 observing the expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclin-1 and LC3B and proportion of apoptotic cells and Bcl-2 positive cells in MCAO/R model rats. Neurological deficit and cerebral infarction volume were measured to assess the improvement effect, while the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3B and proportion of Tunel-positive and Bcl-2 positive cells were examined to explore EA effect on autophagy and apoptosis. The alleviation of inadequate autophagy and apoptosis may be a key mechanism involved in the reflex regulation of EA at GV26 to treat cerebral ischemia
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