Yang Yujie, Cheng Jie, Zhang Yongni, Guo Jiabao, Xie Bin, Zhang Wenyi, Zhu Zhaojin, Zhu Yi
Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The Second Clinical Medical School, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Nov 27;2020:8896123. doi: 10.1155/2020/8896123. eCollection 2020.
Electroacupuncture (EA) could improve colonic transit activity in rats with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) caused by spinal cord injury (SCI). The function of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and c-Kit expression may play essential roles in this process. . Thirty-six Sprague Dawley rats were randomized to the sham group, the SCI group, or the SCI + EA group (bilateral Zusanli, 30 min/day, 14 days). Changes in the ultrastructural morphology of ICCs were observed. The c-Kit expression on different levels was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and RT-qPCR, respectively.
Abnormal morphology of ICCs and downregulation of the c-Kit expression occurred after SCI. While the number of ICCs was increased, the ultrastructural morphology was improved significantly in EA rats. They also showed better improvement in c-Kit expression at both protein and gene levels.
Abnormal ICCs in colon tissues and the downregulated expression of c-Kit could be observed after SCI. EA at Zusanli (ST36) could improve the colon function by repairing the morphology and increasing the number of ICCs and upregulating c-Kit expression.
电针（EA）可改善脊髓损伤（SCI）所致神经源性肠功能障碍（NBD）大鼠的结肠转运活性。 Cajal间质细胞（ICCs）的功能和c-Kit表达可能在此过程中起重要作用。将36只Sprague Dawley大鼠随机分为假手术组、SCI组或SCI+EA组（双侧足三里，每天30分钟，共14天）。观察ICCs超微结构形态的变化。分别采用免疫组织化学、蛋白质印迹法和RT-qPCR分析不同水平的c-Kit表达。
SCI后ICCs形态异常，c-Kit表达下调。电针组大鼠ICCs数量增加，超微结构形态明显改善。它们在蛋白质和基因水平上的c-Kit表达也有更好的改善。
SCI后可观察到结肠组织中ICCs异常及c-Kit表达下调。足三里（ST36）电针可通过修复形态、增加ICCs数量和上调c-Kit表达来改善结肠功能。
