[Effect of Electroacupuncture on Adenosine Receptor Expression in White Adipose Tissue of Diet-induced Obese Mice].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on the expression of adenosine receptor (AR) in the white adipose tissue (WAT) of diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, so as to reveal a peripheral mechanism of EA underlying improvement of body weight.

METHODS

Forty three-week-old C 57 BL/6 male mice were divided into normal diet group (=12) and high fat diet group (=28) randomly, and fed by normal diet and high fat diet for 12 weeks, respectively. In the high fat diet group, mice with body weight over 20% heavier than that of the normal diet group were considered as obese mice. The normal diet mice and the obese mice were divided into normal group (CD, =5) and normal plus EA group (CD+EA, =7), or obese group (HFD, =6) and obese plus EA group (HFD+EA, =12). The CD+EA group and the HFD+EA group were treated with EA at "Zusanli"(ST 36) and "Neiting"(ST 44, 2 Hz/15 Hz, 0.6-1.0 mA) for 20 min, 6 times a week for 4 weeks. Body weight, ratio of WAT/body weight were calculated, qPCR and Western blot were applied to detect mRNA and protein levels of adenosine receptors in the epididymal adipose tissue (Epi-WAT), respectively.

RESULTS

Compared with the normal diet group, high fat diet significantly increased body weight in C 57 BL/6 mice after feeding for 12 weeks (<0.01); 18 out of 28 mice in the high fat diet group were classified as obesity. After treatment, the body weight and the ratio of Epi-WAT/body weight of the HFD group were increased than those in the CD group (<0.05), the change of body weight in the HFD group was bigger than that in the CD group (<0.01). Compared with the HFD group, the body weight and the ratio of Epi-WAT/body weight of the HFD+EA group were decreased after EA (<0.05), the change of body weight was also significantly increased (<0.01). No significant differences were found among the four groups in the expression level of AR mRNA (>0.05). The expression of AR mRNA in the HFD group was lower than that in the CD group (<0.01), while the expressions of A R and AR proteins were decreased in the HFD group than in the CD group (<0.01). In comparison with the HFD group, the expression levels of AR and AR mRNAs and proteins were significantly up-regulated in the HFD+EA group, respectively (<0.05, <0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

EA intervention is able to reduce the body weight of DIO mice, which Feb be associated with its effects in regulating the expression of AR and AR in WAT, suggesting a new mechanism of EA in accelerating peripheral WAT metabolism.