Study on the mechanism of electroacupuncture relieving retinal cell apoptosis in experimental myopic guinea pigs based on mitochondrial dynamics / 眼科新进展

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture in relieving the apoptosis of retinal cells in experimental myopia based on mitochondrial dynamics.Methods In the study,140 two-week-old tricolor guinea pigs were divided into the normal control(NC)group,lens-induced myopia(LIM)group,LIM+sham acupoint(LIM+SHAM)group,and LIM+electroacupuncture intervention(LIM+EA)group,with 35 guinea pigs in each group.Guinea pigs in the NC group were fed normally,and those in the LIM group,LIM+SHAM group and LIM+EA group wore a-6.0D lens on the right eye to induce myopia.Guinea pigs in the LIM+EA group were treated at Hegu and Taiyang acupoints,while those in the LIM+SHAM group were treated at sham acupoints.After 2-and 4-week myopia induction,the diopter and axial length of the guinea pigs were measured,and the messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA)and protein levels of dynam in-related pro-tein 1(DRP1),optic atrophy 1(OPA1),Bcl-2 associated X protein(BAX)and B cell lymphoma-2(BCL-2)in the retinas of the guinea pigs in each group were detected by quantitative PCR and Western blot,respectively.Meanwhile,HE staining was taken to observe the morphological changes in the retina of the guinea pigs in each group,and TUNEL staining was used to detect apoptosis.Results After 2-and 4-week myopic induction,compared with the NC group,the differences in diopter and axial length between the right and left eyes of guinea pigs in the LIM and the LIM+SHAM groups significantly increased(all P＜0.001).Compared with the LIM group,the differences in diopter and axial length between both eyes of guinea pigs in the LIM+EA group significantly decreased(all P＜0.01).At 4 weeks after myopic induction,HE staining re-sults showed that the retinas of the guinea pigs in the NC group were evenly arranged,and the morphology of inner and out-er nuclear layer cells was normal.Compared with the NC group,the retinas of the guinea pigs in the LIM and the LIM+SHAM groups were significantly thinner and disorderly arranged.Compared with the LIM group,the retinal thickness of guinea pigs in the LIM+EA group slightly increased,and the arrangement was relatively regular.The TUNEL staining re-sults showed that compared with the NC group,the green fluorescence of the guinea pig retina in the LIM group and LIM+SHAM group was significantly enhanced;compared with the LIM group,the green fluorescence of the guinea pig retina in the LIM+EA group was significantly weaken.After 2-and 4-week myopic induction,the mRNA and protein expression lev-els of DRP1 and BAX in the LIM and the LIM+SHAM groups were significantly higher than those in the NC group(all P＜0.05),while the mRNA and protein expression levels of OPA1 and BCL-2 were significantly lower(all P＜0.05).The mR-NA and protein expression levels of DRP1 and BAX in the LIM+EA group were significantly lower than those in the LIM group(all P＜0.05),while the mRNA and protein expression levels of OPA1 and BCL-2 were significantly higher(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Experimental myopia can enhance retinal mitochondrial fission.Electroacupuncture intervention can alleviate retinal cell apoptosis and improve the morphological structure of the retina by inhibiting retinal mitochondrial fis-sion and increasing mitochondrial fusion,thereby delaying myopia development.