ABSTRACT
Sirtuins belongs to the class III family of histone deacetylases (HDAC), which is a mammalian homolog of the yeast silencing information regulator Sir2. Silent information regulator factor 2-related enzyme 1 (SIRT1) is the most well studied family member of Sirtuins. Distributed mainly in the nucleus and cytoplasm, SIRT1 is involved in various intracellular biological processes, including DNA damage repair, gene transcription, energy metabolism, stress and apoptosis through its NAD
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture on the expression of silent information regulator factor 2-related enzyme 1 (SIRT 1) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in rats with acute cerebral ischemia (ACI), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of ACI. METHODS: One hundred female SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: normal control (normal), sham-operation (sham), model, non-acupoint and acupoint, with 20 rats in each. The ACI model was established by occlusion (electric coagulation) of the middle cerebral artery after craniotomy. "Baihui" (GV 20) and "Shuigou" (GV 26) or non-acupoints were punctured with filiform needles which were retained for 30 min after rotating for 1 min. The treatment was conducted once after modeling and 24 h thereafter. The cerebral infarct volume was measured after 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The contents of interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and ischemic brain tissue were detected by radioimmunoassay, and the expression of protein SIRT 1 and NF-κB p 65 in the ischemic brain tissue was detected by immunoblotting. RESULTS: The brain infarction volume was obvious in the model group in comparison with the normal group (P0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture intervention at acupoints can reduce the ischemic infarction volume in ACI rats, which may be associated with its effects in down-regulating the levels of IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum and ischemic brain tissue, and in regulating cerebral SIRT 1/NF-κB signaling.