Influence of Exterior-interior Meridian Acupoint Selection on Hippocampal Cell Apoptosis and Expression of c-jun N-terminal Kinase in Rats with Ischemia-reperfusion Injury / 广州中医药大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the influence of exterior-interior meridian acupoint selection on hippocampal cell apoptosis and c-Jun N-terminal kinase ( JNK) in ischemia-reperfusion injury rats, and to explore the possible protective mechanism for ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods One hundred and twenty SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group (SH), model group (I/R), electroacupuncture (EA) group and JNK inhibitor SP600125 ( SP) group. The ischemia-reperfusion model was established by occlusion of middle cerebral artery with intraluminal thread. EA group was given EA on acupoints of Zusanli ( ST 36) , Sanyinjiao ( SP 6) , Chize ( LU 5) , Hegu ( LI 4) , once a day, based on the method of exterior-interior meridian acupoint selection. We observed the neurological behavioral changes by Longa neurological function standard, detected the activation of phosphorylated JNK ( p-JNK) by immunohistochemical method and examined the hippocampal apoptotic index by TUNEL method. Results The neurologic impairment scores of EA group and SP group were lower than I/R group (P<0.05) . Apoptotic index of I/R group was higher than SH group (P<0.01) and that of EA group and SP group was lower than I/R group (P <0.05) . The level of p-JNK in I/R group was higher than SH group ( P <0.01) and that of EA group and SP group was lower than I/R group ( P <0.05). Conclusion Exterior-interior meridian acupoint selection therapy has certain effect on alleviating neurologic impairment and reducing apoptosis in ischemia- reperfusion injury rats, and the mechanism might be associated with the inhibition of the activation of JNK signaling pathway.