Wang Li-Hua, Li Jia, Huang Wei, Wang Li, Ran Guo-Ping, Cheng De-Jun, Zhou Zhong-Yu
Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430061, China.
Department of Acu-moxibustion, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430061.
Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2018 Aug 25;43(8):495-500. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.170744.
To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the activities of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha/uncoupling protein-1 (PGC-1 α/UCP-1) signaling pathway in white adipose tissue(WAT)of diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats, so as to reveal its underlying mechanism in body weight loss.
Thirty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal diet (control, ＝10), high fat diet (model), sham EA-acupoint and EA groups (＝8 in each of the latter 3 groups). The obesity model was established by feeding the rats with high fat diet containing lard oil, sugar, albumen powder, cholesterol, salt and sodium cholate for 12 weeks. EA (2 Hz/15 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Tianshu" (ST 25) or sham acupoints (about 5 mm beside ST 36 and ST 25) for 30 min, once daily, 5 times per week for a total of 8 weeks. During the treatment, all rats were fed with normal diet, and their body weight and length were measured once a week for calculating the Lee's index. The contents of serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) were measured by using biochemical methods. The immunoactivity of PGC-1 α and UCP-1 in the abdominal WAT was detected by immunohistochemistry.
After modeling, the Lee's index, serum TC and TG contents were significantly increased, and the levels of serum HDL-C, and PGC-1 α and UCP-1 immunoactivity in WAT considerably decreased in the model group relevant to the control group (<0.05). Following the treatment, the Lee's index, TC and TG contents were significantly down-regulated while HDL-C and PGC-1 α and UCP-1 immunoactivity were obviously up-regulated in the EA-acupoint group relevant to the model group (<0.05).
EA can effectively reduce the body weight and adipose content in obesity rats, which may be closely related to its effect in up-regulating PGC-1 α/UCP-1 signaling in WAT, suggesting an efficacy of EA in promoting the browning of WAT.
观察电针（EA）对饮食诱导肥胖（DIO）大鼠白色脂肪组织（WAT）中过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ共激活因子-1α/解偶联蛋白-1（PGC-1α/UCP-1）信号通路活性的影响，以揭示其在体重减轻方面的潜在机制。
将34只雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为正常饮食组（对照组，n = 10）、高脂饮食组（模型组）、假针刺穴位组和电针组（后3组每组n = 8）。通过给大鼠喂食含猪油、糖、蛋白粉、胆固醇、盐和胆酸钠的高脂饮食12周建立肥胖模型。将电针（2Hz/15Hz，1mA）施加于双侧“足三里”（ST36）和“天枢”（ST25）或假穴位（ST36和ST25旁约5mm处）30分钟，每日1次，每周5次，共8周。治疗期间，所有大鼠均喂食正常饮食，每周测量一次体重和体长以计算李氏指数。采用生化方法测定血清总胆固醇（TC）和甘油三酯（TG）含量。通过免疫组化检测腹部WAT中PGC-1α和UCP-1的免疫活性。
建模后，与对照组相比，模型组的李氏指数、血清TC和TG含量显著升高，血清高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）水平以及WAT中PGC-1α和UCP-1免疫活性明显降低（P<0.05）。治疗后，与模型组相比，电针穴位组的李氏指数、TC和TG含量显著下调，而HDL-C以及PGC-1α和UCP-1免疫活性明显上调（P<0.05）。
电针可有效降低肥胖大鼠的体重和脂肪含量，这可能与其上调WAT中PGC-1α/UCP-1信号的作用密切相关，提示电针在促进WAT褐色化方面具有疗效。
