Electroacupuncture stimulation of foot-yangming stomach meridian regulates mrna and protein expression of bax and bcl-2 in spinal cord injury rats / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine has proposed the theory that “treatment for flaccidity aims at Yangming meridian” in the Internal Canon of Medicine. However, relatively few reports focus on electroacupuncture at the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming for the treatment of spinal cord injury. From the perspectives of Bcl-2 and Bcl-2 expression, the mechanism of electroacupuncture intervention at the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming for the treatment of spinal cord injury was preliminarily explored in this study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture on the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 in injured segments of spinal cord injury rats. METHODS: Sixty-four Sprague-Dawley female rats (SPF level) were randomly divided into four groups control group, pre-labeling group, post-injury labeling group and electroacupuncture group, with 16 rats in each group. The control group and the pre-labeling group were given intraperitoneal injection of Brdu (5 mg/kg) for 10 continuous days prior to the operation to label the cells that had differentiation ability and vitality in the spinal cord. The control group underwent laminectomy at T10 segment on the 11th day of labeling, while a model of spinal cord injury was induced by the clamp method in the pre-labeling group. The post-injury labeling group and the electroacupuncture group were injected intraperitoneally with BrdU (5 mg/kg) for 10 continuous days to mark the activated and proliferated cells. In the electroacupuncture group, electroacupuncture stimulation was done at Zusanli and Futu acupoints of Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian on the 3rd day after modeling, 5 times a week. Four rats were taken from each group at 3, 10, 17, and 24 days after modeling (0, 7, 14, and 21 days after electroacupuncture stimulation). Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scores were used to evaluate the motor function, and the expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 protein and gene in the spinal cord were detected using qRT-PCR and western blot. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At 3-24 days after surgery, the neurological scores in the pre-labeling group, post-injury labeling group, and electroacupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The neurological scores of the electroacpuncture group were significantly higher than those in the pre-labeling group and post-injury labeling group (P < 0.05). With the prolongation of spinal cord injury time, the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax increased first and then decreased, while the mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 decreased first and then increased. The ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 decreased gradually with the lapse of electroacupuncture intervention time. To conclude, electroacupuncture stimulation of the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming can reduce apoptosis of nerve cells, and promote recovery of motor function in spinal cord injury rats by regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax.