Cong Xin-Yu, Kong Xue-Li, Zhang Rong, Yu Fang-Ning, Jiang Dai-Xun, Chen Wu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102200, China.
Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2019 Apr 25;44(4):258-63. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.170909.
To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation on the levels of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-4 (ADAMTS-4) protein in the lumbar intervertebral disc tissue and serum in prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration (PLIDD) rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).
A total of 48 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham operation (＝12), model (＝18) and EA (＝18) groups. The PLIDD model was established by puncturing the lumbar discs (L4-L5, L5-L6) with a gauge-22 syringe needle. After modeling, EA stimulation was applied to "Pangguangshu"(BL28), "Zusanli"(ST36) and "Zhijian"for 20 min, 6 times per week for 4 weeks. The lumbar intervertebral disc tissue and blood samples were collected at the 4 6 and 8 week after modeling, respectively. The expression of ADAMTS-4 in the lumbar intervertebral disc tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot (WB), separately. The content of ADAMTS-4 in the serum was detected by ELISA.
Both immunohistochemical stain and WB showed that the expression levels of lumbar ADAMTS-4 at the 4 6 and 8 week were significantly up-regulated in the model group relevant to the sham operation group (<0.01). Following EA treatment, the expression levels of ADAMTS-4 on day 14 and 28 were notably lower in the EA group than in the model group (<0.05). The serum ADAMTS-4 contents were significantly increased in the model group than in the sham operation group at the 3 time-points (<0.05, <0.01), and considerably decreased in the EA group than in the model group on day 28 after EA intervention(<0.05)．.
EA can down-regulate the ADAMTS-4 expression of lumbar intervertebral disc tissue in PLIDD rats, which may contribute to its effect in relieving lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.
观察电针刺激对腰椎间盘退变伴腰椎间盘突出症（PLIDD）大鼠腰椎间盘组织及血清中含血小板反应蛋白基序的解聚素和金属蛋白酶-4（ADAMTS-4）蛋白水平的影响，以探讨其改善椎间盘退变（IDD）的机制。
将48只Sprague-Dawley大鼠分为假手术组（n＝12）、模型组（n＝18）和电针组（n＝18）。采用22号注射器针头穿刺腰椎间盘（L4-L5、L5-L6）建立PLIDD模型。建模后，对“膀胱俞”（BL28）、“足三里”（ST36）和“秩边”进行电针刺激20分钟，每周6次，共4周。分别在建模后第4、6和8周采集腰椎间盘组织和血液样本。采用免疫组织化学和蛋白质印迹法（WB）分别检测腰椎间盘组织中ADAMTS-4的表达。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）检测血清中ADAMTS-4的含量。
免疫组织化学染色和WB均显示，与假手术组相比，模型组在第4、6和8周时腰椎ADAMTS-4的表达水平显著上调（P<0.01）。电针治疗后，电针组在第14天和28天时ADAMTS-4的表达水平显著低于模型组（P<0.05）。在3个时间点，模型组血清ADAMTS-4含量均显著高于假手术组（P<0.05，P<0.01），电针干预后第28天，电针组血清ADAMTS-4含量显著低于模型组（P<0.05）。
电针可下调PLIDD大鼠腰椎间盘组织中ADAMTS-4的表达，这可能是其缓解腰椎间盘退变的作用机制之一。
