Effect of electroacupuncture on the formation of glial scars in cerebral cortex of rats with focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture on the formation of glial scars in the cerebral cortex of rats with focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion( I /R) . Methods The focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion model was established by thread method, and "Baihui" ( GV 20) and left "Siguan" (Hegu LI 4/Taichong LR 3) were selected as acupoints points. Seventy-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into sham group ( sham) , focal cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion ( I/R) , focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion + electroacupuncture group ( I/R + EA ) . Seven days after reperfusion, modified neurological severity score ( mNSS) was used to evaluate neurological deficit, HE staining was used to observe the degree of ischemic cerebral cortex. Immunofluorescencte was used to observe glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) /neurocan, GFAP/phosphacan positive cells in the ischemic cerebral cortex. The average immunofluorescent intensity of GFAP, neurocan and phosphacan, and the levels of GFAP, neurocan and phosphacan mRNA in the ischemic cerebral cortex were analyzed by Real-time PCR, respectively. Results Compared with the I/R group, mNSS score in I/R+EA group decreased significantly (P<0. 01) , and the degree of brain tissue damage reduced obviously. There were very few GFAP+/neurocan+ cells and GFAP+/phosphacan+ cells in the sham group. The astrocytes in I/R group were Irypertroplry, increasing and thickened protrusions, more GFAP+/neurocan+ cells and GFAP+/phosphacan+ cells weredectected as well. While the count of GFAPVneurocan+ cells and GFAP+/phosphacan+ cells in I/R + EA group were significantly lower than those in I /R group. In addition, the average immunofluorescence intensity of GFAP, neurocan and phosphacan in I/R+EA group, and mRNA content of above mentioned indicators were significantly lower than those in I/R group ( P < 0. 05 ) . Conclusion Electroacupuncture promotes the recovery of neurological function in rats with focal cerebral I /R and reduce brain tissue damage, which may be related to the inhibition of glial scar fonnation in cerebral cortex.