College of Acupuncture and Tuina, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xixian New Area, Xianyang, 712046, China.
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine, Xixian New Area, Xianyang, 712046, China.
Neurosci Bull. 2024 Oct;40(10):1502-1518. doi: 10.1007/s12264-024-01244-9. Epub 2024 Jun 14.
Preeclampsia is a serious obstetric complication. Currently, there is a lack of effective preventive approaches for this disease. Recent studies have identified transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) as a potential novel non-pharmaceutical therapeutic modality for preeclampsia. In this study, we investigated whether taVNS inhibits apoptosis of placental trophoblastic cells through ROS-induced UPR. Our results showed that taVNS promoted the release of acetylcholine (ACh). ACh decreased the expression of UPR by inhibiting the formation of mitochondrial ROS (mtROS), presumably through M3AChR. This reduced the release of pro-apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase-3, NF-κB-p65, and cytochrome C) and helped preserve the morphological and functional integrity of mitochondria, thus reducing the apoptosis of placental trophoblasts, improving placental function, and relieving preeclampsia. Our study unravels the potential pathophysiological mechanism of preeclampsia. In-depth characterization of the UPR is essential for developing more effective therapeutic strategies for preeclampsia targeting mitochondrial function.
子痫前期是一种严重的产科并发症。目前,针对这种疾病还缺乏有效的预防方法。最近的研究表明,经皮耳迷走神经刺激(taVNS)可能是一种治疗子痫前期的新型非药物治疗方法。本研究旨在探讨 taVNS 是否通过 ROS 诱导的 UPR 抑制胎盘滋养层细胞凋亡。结果表明,taVNS 促进乙酰胆碱(ACh)的释放。ACh 通过抑制线粒体 ROS(mtROS)的形成抑制 UPR 的表达,可能通过 M3AChR 实现。这减少了促凋亡蛋白(裂解 caspase-3、NF-κB-p65 和细胞色素 C)的释放,并有助于维持线粒体的形态和功能完整性,从而减少胎盘滋养层细胞的凋亡,改善胎盘功能,缓解子痫前期。本研究揭示了子痫前期的潜在病理生理学机制。深入研究 UPR 对于开发针对线粒体功能的更有效的子痫前期治疗策略至关重要。
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