Duan Dongmei, Tu Ya, Yang Xiuyan, Liu Ping
Department of Health Care of South Building, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
Acupuncture College of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:7950635. doi: 10.1155/2016/7950635. Epub 2016 Nov 23.
The current study is designed to investigate the antidepressant efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment by evaluating its effect on the synthesis, metabolism, reuptake, and receptors of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), so as to clarify the molecular mechanisms of EA for antidepression. Solitary combined with the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was used to establish the rat model with depression. The depressed rats were supplied with EA treatment for 4 weeks, and the behavior change and the following indices including 5-HT, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), 5-HT transporter (SERT), 5-HT1A, and 5-HT2A in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were examined. EA treatment significantly improved the behavior of rats and increased 5-HT level in hippocampus of depressed rats. Similarly, EA treatment could significantly increase protein and mRNA expression of TPH and 5-HT1A during 5-HT synthesis process in hippocampus of depressed rats. However, EA treatment had no effect on the activity of MAO-A and the expression of SERT protein and mRNA. Antidepressant efficacy of EA treatment can be accomplished through enhancing 5-HT synthesis, upregulating 5-HT1A level, and improving 5-HT content in brain and synaptic gaps.
本研究旨在通过评估电针（EA）治疗对5-羟色胺（5-HT）的合成、代谢、再摄取和受体的影响，来探讨其抗抑郁疗效，从而阐明电针抗抑郁的分子机制。采用孤养结合慢性不可预测温和应激（CUMS）建立大鼠抑郁模型。对抑郁大鼠进行4周的电针治疗，检测其行为变化以及海马和前额叶皮质中5-HT、5-羟吲哚乙酸（5-HIAA）、单胺氧化酶A（MAO-A）、色氨酸羟化酶（TPH）、5-HT转运体（SERT）、5-HT1A和5-HT2A等指标。电针治疗显著改善了大鼠的行为，并提高了抑郁大鼠海马中的5-HT水平。同样，电针治疗可显著增加抑郁大鼠海马中5-HT合成过程中TPH和5-HT1A的蛋白和mRNA表达。然而，电针治疗对MAO-A的活性以及SERT蛋白和mRNA的表达没有影响。电针治疗的抗抑郁疗效可通过增强5-HT合成、上调5-HT1A水平以及提高脑和突触间隙中的5-HT含量来实现。
