Electroacupuncture can promote hippocampal neurogenesis relieving chronic cerebral hypoperfusion / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the expression of noggin mRNA in the hippocampus of rats with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, and explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the " baihui" and " dazhui" acupoints on their learning and memory and on hippocampal neurogenesis.Methods:In total, 120 Sprague-Dawley rats had cerebral hypoperfusion induced by permanent bilateral ligation of the common carotid artery. The 104 successfully induced were divided at random into a model group and an EA group, each of 52. The EA group was given EA on the baihui and dazhui acupoints for 20 minutes daily for seven days followed by a two-day break. The output current was 1mA at 15Hz. No special treatment was given to the model group. After one, two, four and six weeks of treatment, 6 rats were given BrdU injections to observe the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Learning and memory were assessed using the Morris Water Maze. The expression of noggin mRNA and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus were measured using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reactions and immunohistochemistry.Results:After one, two and five weeks of intervention, the average learning and memory ability of the EA group were significantly better than those of the control group. The average expression of noggin mRNA was significantly higher in the EA group than in the model group at the same time points. Compared with the model group, there were more BrdU-positive cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus in the EA group, and the number decreased with the prolongation of ischemia. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of noggin mRNA in the hippocampus of both groups were positively correlated with their number of BrdU-positive cells. The correlation was stronger in the EA group than in the model group.Conclusions:Electroacupuncture can promote hippocampal neurogenesis in rats with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion by regulating the expression of hippocampal noggin mRNA, thereby improving their spatial learning and memory ability.