Electroacupuncture Attenuates Cerebral Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury in Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion of Rat via Modulation of Apoptosis, Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Excitotoxicity.

Mei-Hong Shen,Peng-Fei Li,Chun-Bing Zhang,Jia-Hui Zhang

doi:10.1155/2016/9438650

Abstract

Electroacupuncture (EA) has several properties such as antioxidant, antiapoptosis, and anti-inflammatory properties. The current study was to investigate the effects of EA on the prevention and treatment of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and to elucidate possible molecular mechanisms. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 h followed by reperfusion for 24 h. EA stimulation was applied to both Baihui and Dazhui acupoints for 30 min in each rat per day for 5 successive days before MCAO (pretreatment) or when the reperfusion was initiated (treatment). Neurologic deficit scores, infarction volumes, brain water content, and neuronal apoptosis were evaluated. The expressions of related inflammatory cytokines, apoptotic molecules, antioxidant systems, and excitotoxic receptors in the brain were also investigated. Results showed that both EA pretreatment and treatment significantly reduced infarct volumes, decreased brain water content, and alleviated neuronal injury in MCAO rats. Notably, EA exerts neuroprotection against I/R injury through improving neurological function, attenuating the inflammation cytokines, upregulating antioxidant systems, and reducing the excitotoxicity. This study provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the traditional use of EA.

Highlights

Stroke, a serious threat to human’s health, is a major cause of death and disability in the world
After 2 h of ischemia followed by 24 h of reperfusion, rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) showed significant motor behavioral deficits
These results indicated that EA could be a promising tool for complementary therapy in stroke

Summary

Introduction

A serious threat to human’s health, is a major cause of death and disability in the world. EA has recently been shown to effectively exert neuroprotective effects on stroke patients [14] and in animal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) models [15]. This neuroprotection is closely related to Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic pathways [16,17,18]. Our previous studies demonstrated that EA at Baihui (GV20) and Dazhui (GV14) in MCAO rats protected cerebral cortical cells from injury by clearing away excessive oxygen free radicals [19]. We elucidated the underlying mechanism which was related to the functional recovery

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion