[Effect of scalp acupuncture stimulation on cerebral infarct volume and expression of IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β in para-hippocampal gyrus in acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease rats].

OBJECTIVE

To observe the influence of scalp acupuncture on cerebral infarct size and expression of IL-10, IL-6, and IL-1β in the para-hippocampal gyrus in acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease(AICD) rats, so as to investigate its mechanisms underlying improvement of AICD.

METHODS

Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly allocated to normal control (control), AICD model, medication, and scalp acupuncture groups (＝12 per group). The AICD model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). Rats of the medication group received intraperitoneal injection of Ammonium 1-Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC, 100 mg•kg•d), once daily for 7 days. Scalp acupuncture stimulation was applied to bilateral "Dingnieqianxiexian" (MS6) once daily for 7 days. Before and after intervention, the neurologic deficit score (NDS) and the neurological score (NS) were evaluated according to Longa's and Schäbitz's methods, respectively. At the end of the intervention, the para-hippocampal gyrus and whole brain were collected respectively. The expression levels of IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β in the para-hippocampal gyrus tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the cerebral infarct volume of the brain was detected by triphenyltetrazollium chloride (TTC) staining after sectioning.

RESULTS

Following modeling, the NDS, NS and the expression of IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β in para-hippocampal gyrus were significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group (<0.01). After the intervention, the NDS, NS and infarct volume, and the expression levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in the para-hippocampal gyrus were significantly decreased in both medication and scalp acupuncture groups compared with the model group (<0.05), and the expression of IL-10 was further obviously up-regulated in the scalp acupuncture group (<0.05) rather than in the medication group (>0.05). The effect of scalp acupuncture was obviously superior to that of medication in up-regulating IL-10 expression level (<0.05). No significant differences were found between the medication and scalp acupuncture groups in the levels of NDS, NS, infarct volume, IL-6 and IL-1β proteins (>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Scalp acupuncture can improve neurological function and reduce infarct volume in AICD rats, which may be associated with its function in up-regulating the expression of IL-10 and in inhibiting the expression of IL-6 and IL-1β to reduce inflammation reaction.