Xia Wen-Guang, Zheng Chan-Juan, Zhang Xuan, Wang Juan
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hubei Provincial Hospital of the Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Wuhan, 430015, China.
J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci. 2017 Apr;37(2):271-278. doi: 10.1007/s11596-017-1727-7. Epub 2017 Apr 11.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of "nourishing liver and kidney" acupuncture therapy on motor and cognitive deficits, and the underlying mechanism following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) via increasing the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and synaptophysin (SYN) in the hippocampus. Healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (n=51), model group (n=51), acupuncture group (n=51) and acupuncture control group (n=51). The middle cerebral I/R model was established. Acupunctures were performed in the acupuncture group and acupuncture control group at acupoints of Taixi (K103), Taichong (ST09) of both sides, for 30 min once daily every morning. The animals in the sham operation group and model group were conventionally fed in the cage, without any intervention therapy. The rats of each group were assessed with modified neurological severity scores (mNSS). The expression of BDNF and SYN in the hippocampus was detected by immunohistochemical SP method and the synaptic structure in hippocampus area was assessed morphologically and quantitatively at the 3rd, 7th and 14th day. The Morris water Maze (MWM) test was used to evaluate the rats' learning and memory abilities on the 15th day after acupuncture. The animals in the acupuncture control group and sham operation group presented no neurological deficit. In the acupuncture group, the nerve functional recovery was significantly better than that in the model group at the 7th and 14th day after modeling. The average MWM escape latency in the acupuncture group was shorter than that in the model group at the 3rd, 4th and 5th day. The number of crossings of the platform quadrant in the acupuncture group was significantly more than that in the model group. At the each time point, the expression levels of BDNF and SYN in the hippocampal regions increased significantly in the model group as compared with the sham operation group and the acupuncture control group. In the acupuncture group, the expression levels of BDNF at the 7th and 14th day increased more significantly than those in the model group. In the acupuncture group, the expression levels of SYN at the each time point increased more significantly than those in the model group. The post-synaptic density (PSD) was significantly increased and the synapse cleft width was narrowed in the acupuncture group as compared with other groups. The synaptic curvatures were improved obviously in the acupuncture group in contrast to the model group. It was concluded that the "nourishing liver and kidney" acupuncture therapy has positive effects on behavioral recovery, as well as learning and memory abilities, probably by promoting the expression of BDNF and SYN, and synaptic structure reconstruction in the ipsilateral hippocampus after I/R in rats. The "nourishing liver and kidney" acupuncture therapy can promote the functional recovery in rats after cerebral ischemia injury.
本研究旨在探讨“滋补肝肾”针刺疗法对脑缺血再灌注（I/R）后运动和认知功能障碍的影响及其潜在机制，即通过增加海马区脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）和突触素（SYN）的表达来实现。将健康成年雄性SD大鼠随机分为假手术组（n = 51）、模型组（n = 51）、针刺组（n = 51）和针刺对照组（n = 51）。建立大脑中动脉I/R模型。针刺组和针刺对照组于双侧太溪（K103）、太冲（ST09）穴位进行针刺，每天上午1次，每次30分钟。假手术组和模型组动物常规饲养于笼中，不进行任何干预治疗。采用改良神经功能缺损评分（mNSS）对各组大鼠进行评估。在第3、7和14天，通过免疫组织化学SP法检测海马区BDNF和SYN的表达，并对海马区突触结构进行形态学和定量评估。在针刺后第15天，采用Morris水迷宫（MWM）试验评估大鼠的学习和记忆能力。针刺对照组和假手术组动物未出现神经功能缺损。在建模后第7天和14天，针刺组神经功能恢复明显优于模型组。在第3、4和5天，针刺组MWM平均逃避潜伏期短于模型组。针刺组平台象限穿越次数明显多于模型组。在每个时间点，与假手术组和针刺对照组相比，模型组海马区BDNF和SYN表达水平显著升高。在针刺组，第7天和14天BDNF表达水平升高幅度明显大于模型组。在针刺组，各时间点SYN表达水平升高幅度明显大于模型组。与其他组相比，针刺组突触后致密物（PSD）显著增加，突触间隙宽度变窄。与模型组相比，针刺组突触曲率明显改善。结论：“滋补肝肾”针刺疗法对大鼠I/R后行为恢复、学习和记忆能力具有积极作用，可能是通过促进BDNF和SYN的表达以及同侧海马区突触结构重建实现的。“滋补肝肾”针刺疗法可促进大鼠脑缺血损伤后的功能恢复。
