OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of
electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on inflammatory reaction,
apoptosis and expression of Yes-associated
protein (YAP) of ischemic penumbra of
cerebral cortex in
cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury rats, and to explore the possible mechanism of its
neuroprotection effect.@*
METHODS@#A total of 84 SD
rats were randomized into a sham operation group (12
rats), a model group (18
rats), an EA group (18
rats), an EA+YAP
virus transfection group (18
rats) and an EA+
virus control group (18
rats). Except for the sham operation group, thread embolization
method was adopted to establish the
middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in
rats of the other groups. EA was applied at "Baihui" (GV 20) and "Dazhui" (GV 14) for 30 min in the 3 EA intervention groups 2 h before model establishment, disperse-dense
wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz in frequency and 1 mA in intensity.
Adenovirus transfection technique was used to induce
gene silencing of YAP in the EA+YAP
virus transfection group, and
adenovirus vectors was injected as negative control in the EA+
virus control group 4 d before model establishment. Twenty-four hours after model establishment, neurological function score was evaluated, the relative
cerebral infarction area was observed by TTC
staining, the
apoptosis in the ischemic penumbra of
cerebral cortex was detected by
TUNEL staining, the levels of inflammatory factors
IL-1β,
IL-6 and TNF-α in the ischemic penumbra of
cerebral cortex was detected by
ELISA method, the expression of YAP was detected by
Western blot and
immunofluorescence.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the sham operation group, the expression of YAP was increased in the model group (@*CONCLUSION@#
Electroacupuncture pretreatment can effectively improve the
ischemia reperfusion injury, its mechanism may be related to up-regulating the expression of YAP in the ischemic penumbra of
cerebral cortex and relieving the
apoptosis and inflammatory reaction.