Deng Qilong, Ma Lili, Yang Yu, Chen Ting, Zhan Luding, He Qiaoqiao, Jiang Yingying, Ma Lizhong
Rehabilitation Medical Center, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, China.
Taizhou Enze Medical Center (Group), Luqiao Hospital, Taizhou, 318050, Zhejiang, China.
Mol Neurobiol. 2024 Feb;61(2):635-645. doi: 10.1007/s12035-023-03577-4. Epub 2023 Aug 31.
The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation on the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). One hundred rats were included and randomly divided into the sham-operation (SO) group, model (MO) group, EA group, and preacupuncture stimulation (PAS) group, with 25 rats in each group. All the rats in the SO group had their spinal cord of thoracic segment T10 exposed but without SCI. In the remaining three groups, the modified Allen's weight dropping method was adopted to make SCI models. Those in the SO group and the MO group did not receive any treatment. Those in the EA group were treated with EA after the modelling was completed, which stopped when the samples were collected at each time point. The spinal cord tissue of rats was subjected to immunohistochemical staining and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the expressions of neurofilament nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) score of the MO group was much lower than that of the SO group on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days after surgery (P < 0.05). The BBB scores of the EA group and PAS group were notably higher than that of the MO group (P < 0.05). The number of nestin-, GFAP-, and MAP-2-positive cells was significantly increased in rat tissues after spinal cord injury. On the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days postoperatively, the numbers of nestin-positive cells in the EA and PAS groups were considerably higher than those in the MO group (P < 0.01). However, the numbers of GFAP-positive cells in the EA and PAS groups were considerably decreased compared with those in the MO group (P < 0.01). The positive rate of MAP-2 in the model group was significantly increased compared to that in the sham-operation group (P < 0.001). The positive rates of MAP-2 in the EA group and PAS group were significantly higher than those in the MO group (P < 0.01). After spinal cord injury, EA could activate the proliferation of endogenous NSCs and promote their differentiation into neuronal cells. Consequently, injuries were repaired, and functions were rehabilitated.
本研究旨在探讨电针刺激对脊髓损伤（SCI）大鼠内源性神经干细胞（NSCs）增殖和分化的影响。纳入100只大鼠，随机分为假手术（SO）组、模型（MO）组、电针（EA）组和针刺预刺激（PAS）组，每组25只。SO组所有大鼠暴露胸段T10脊髓，但无脊髓损伤。其余三组采用改良Allen重物坠落法制作脊髓损伤模型。SO组和MO组未接受任何治疗。EA组在建模完成后接受电针治疗，在每个时间点采集样本时停止。对大鼠脊髓组织进行免疫组织化学染色和实时定量聚合酶链反应（PCR），以检测神经丝巢蛋白和胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）的表达。术后第3、7和14天，MO组的Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan（BBB）评分远低于SO组（P < 0.05）。EA组和PAS组的BBB评分显著高于MO组（P < 0.05）。脊髓损伤后大鼠组织中巢蛋白、GFAP和微管相关蛋白2（MAP-2）阳性细胞数量显著增加。术后第3、7和14天，EA组和PAS组巢蛋白阳性细胞数量显著高于MO组（P < 0.01）。然而，EA组和PAS组GFAP阳性细胞数量与MO组相比显著减少（P < 0.01）。模型组MAP-2阳性率与假手术组相比显著升高（P < 0.001）。EA组和PAS组MAP-2阳性率显著高于MO组（P < 0.01）。脊髓损伤后，电针可激活内源性神经干细胞的增殖，并促进其向神经元细胞分化。从而修复损伤，恢复功能。
