Electroacupuncture regulates pain and its effect on IL-17 and IL-17R expression of spinal cord in New Zealand rabbit with osteoarthritis / 重庆医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate whether electroacupuncture(EA) regulates the pain in New Zealand rabbits with osteo arthritis by inhibiting the IL-17 and IL-17R expression in spinal cord.Methods New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into the sham operation group,inflammation model group,sham operation+ IL-17 group,inflammation+ IL-17 group,inflammation + EA group and inflammation +sham EA group,8 cases in each group.The rabbit osteoarthritis model was established by using the papaya protease,IL-17 and IL-17 antiserum was injected into the spinal canal,The EA group selected the EA at Zusanli point(30 min,2 Hz continuous wave,1～ 2 mA),the sham EA group adopted the non-acupoint stimulation.Then the pain threshold of rabbits was detected.The mRNA expression of IL-17 and IL-17R in rabbit spinal cord tissue was detected by RT-qPCR and the protein expression was detected by Western-Bolt.Results The rabbit pain threshold was significantly decreased after constructing the New Zealand osteoarthritis model(P＜0.05),and the spinal canal injection of IL-17 could significantly decrease the pain threshold of sham operation New Zealand rabbit(P＜0.05),while the spinal canal injection of IL-17 antiserum could significantly increase the pain threshold of osteoarthritis model rabbit.Selecting EA at Zusanli point could significantly enhance the rabbit pain threshold (P＜0.05).The mRNA and protein expression of IL-17 and IL-17R of the osteoarthritis model group were significantly increased (P＜0.05),while the expressions were significantly decreased after EA stimulation(P＜0.05).Conclusion The pain occurrence of New Zealand rabbit osteoarthritis may involve the IL-17 abnormal expression in spinal cord.EA may regulate the osteoarthritis pain by inhibiting the expression of IL-17 and IL-17R in spinal cord.