Niu Cong, Zhu Meihua, Zhang Jiamin, Zhang Chenye, Tian Weiqian
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Chin J Physiol. 2022 Mar-Apr;65(2):87-92. doi: 10.4103/cjp.cjp_108_21.
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication after surgery in elderly patients. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been reported to relieve POCD in animal models, but the mechanism remains fully elucidated. The objective of this work was to clarify whether EA could alleviate POCD via regulating autophagy. In this study, aged rats were assigned into 4 groups: control, surgery (rats underwent exploratory laparotomy to induce POCD), EA + S (rats received EA pre-stimulation before surgery), and EA + S + Chloroquine (CQ) (rats were intraperitoneally injected with CQ before EA stimulation and then underwent surgery). The cognitive function of rats was assessed by Morris Water Maze (MWM) test after surgery, and autophagy in hippocampal tissues of rats was evaluated by western blotting and transmission electron microscope. Results indicated that the MWM test revealed that rats showed reduced platform crossing and increased total swimming distance after surgery. However, this impaired spatial memory was improved by EA and EA plus CQ pre-treatment. Besides, the surgery caused an increased expression in LC3II, Beclin-1, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and p-AMPK in hippocampal tissues of rats, while EA and EA plus CQ pre-treatment also reversed this effect. In addition, the surgery-induced increased amount of autophagic vesicles in hippocampal tissues of rats was reduced by EA and EA plus CQ pre-treatment. In conclusion, EA pre-stimulation could effectively attenuate cognitive impairment in aged rats with POCD via inhibiting AMPK signaling-mediated autophagy.
术后认知功能障碍（POCD）是老年患者术后常见的并发症。据报道，电针（EA）可缓解动物模型中的POCD，但其机制仍有待充分阐明。本研究的目的是阐明EA是否可通过调节自噬来减轻POCD。在本研究中，将老年大鼠分为4组：对照组、手术组（大鼠接受剖腹探查术以诱导POCD）、EA + S组（大鼠在手术前接受EA预刺激）和EA + S +氯喹（CQ）组（大鼠在EA刺激前腹腔注射CQ，然后进行手术）。术后通过莫里斯水迷宫（MWM）试验评估大鼠的认知功能，并通过蛋白质免疫印迹法和透射电子显微镜评估大鼠海马组织中的自噬。结果表明，MWM试验显示，术后大鼠穿越平台的次数减少，总游泳距离增加。然而，EA和EA加CQ预处理改善了这种受损的空间记忆。此外，手术导致大鼠海马组织中LC3II、Beclin-1、AMP激活蛋白激酶（AMPK）和p-AMPK的表达增加，而EA和EA加CQ预处理也逆转了这种效应。此外，EA和EA加CQ预处理减少了手术诱导的大鼠海马组织中自噬泡数量的增加。总之，EA预刺激可通过抑制AMPK信号介导的自噬有效减轻老年POCD大鼠的认知障碍。
