Xu Jiarong, Huang Ao, Ding Zhikai, Bao Yu, Zhao Canghuan, Cai Wenzhi
Department of Nursing, Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen 518101, China.
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2025 Aug 20;45(8):1616-1624. doi: 10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.06.
To investigate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in a rat model of insomnia and its regulatory effect on the glutamic acid (Glu)/γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-glutamine (Gln) metabolic loop.
Forty male SD rats were randomly assigned to control group, model group, group and group (=10). In the latter 3 groups, rat models of insomnia were established by intraperitoneal injections of p-chlorophenylalanine and verified using a sodium pentobarbital-induced sleep test. After modeling, the rats in and groups received acupuncture for 7 days at specifically chosen sets of acupoints based on the rationale in traditional Chinese medicine. Pathological changes in the hypothalamic tissue of the rats were examined with HE staining, and the levels of Glu and GABA in the hypothalamus were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) in the hypothalamus, and the expression levels of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65/67) and glutamine synthetase (GS) were determined with Western blotting.
Compared with the model group, the rats in and groups exhibited decreased Glu levels and GABAA receptor expression and increased GABA levels with a decreased Glu/GABA ratio in the hypothalamus. acupuncture significantly increased the protein expressions of GAD65 and GAD67 and lowered the expression of GS in the hypothalamus in the rat models of insomnia.
acupuncture produces sedative and hypnotic effects in rat models of insomnia possibly by regulating Glu and GABA-Gln metabolism to restore the excitatory/inhibitory balance between Glu and GABA.
探讨针刺对失眠大鼠模型的治疗作用及其对谷氨酸（Glu）/γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）-谷氨酰胺（Gln）代谢环路的调节作用。
将40只雄性SD大鼠随机分为对照组、模型组、针刺组和假针刺组（每组10只）。后3组采用腹腔注射对氯苯丙氨酸建立失眠大鼠模型，并通过戊巴比妥钠诱导的睡眠试验进行验证。造模后，针刺组和假针刺组大鼠根据中医理论选取特定穴位针刺7天。采用苏木精-伊红（HE）染色观察大鼠下丘脑组织的病理变化，用高效液相色谱（HPLC）-质谱（MS）/质谱法测定下丘脑Glu和GABA水平。采用免疫组织化学法检测下丘脑GABAA受体（GABAARs）的表达，用蛋白质印迹法测定谷氨酸脱羧酶（GAD65/67）和谷氨酰胺合成酶（GS）的表达水平。
与模型组相比，针刺组和假针刺组大鼠下丘脑Glu水平和GABAA受体表达降低，GABA水平升高，Glu/GABA比值降低。针刺显著增加了失眠大鼠模型下丘脑GAD65和GAD67的蛋白表达，降低了GS的表达。
针刺可能通过调节Glu和GABA-Gln代谢，恢复Glu和GABA之间的兴奋/抑制平衡，从而对失眠大鼠模型产生镇静催眠作用。
