Electroacupuncture Improves Neuronal Damage and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Through the TRPC1 and SIRT1/AMPK Signaling Pathways to Alleviate Parkinson’s Disease in Mice

• Published in: Journal of molecular neuroscience Vol. 74; no. 1; p. 5
• Main Authors: Geng, Xin, Zou, Yanghong, Huang, Tao, Li, Shipeng, Pang, Ailan, Yu, Hualin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 08.01.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acupuncture; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; Animal tissues; Animals; Apoptosis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Calcium (mitochondrial); Calcium ions; Cell Biology; Chorea; Cognitive ability; Damage; Disease Models, Animal; Disease resistance; Electroacupuncture; Flow cytometry; Health services; Immunofluorescence; Immunohistochemistry; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Male; Membrane potential; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Diseases; Movement disorders; MPTP; Neurochemistry; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurology; Neurosciences; Oxidative stress; Parkinson Disease - therapy; Parkinson's disease; Proteomics; Signal transduction; SIRT1 protein; Sirtuin 1 - genetics; Substantia nigra; Western blotting; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Electroacupuncture; SIRT1/AMPK; TRPC1; Parkinson’s disease
• DOI: 10.1007/s12031-023-02186-z
• ISSN: 1559-1166; 0895-8696

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that mainly manifests as cognitive decline and motor dysfunction, the treatment of which is still a major challenge in the clinical field. Acupuncture therapy has been shown in many studies to enhance the body’s own immunity and disease resistance. This study mainly discusses the specific mechanism underlying electroacupuncture intervention in improving PD. Male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) to induce a mouse PD model, and the chorea trembling control area of the head of PD mice was treated by electroacupuncture. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of related proteins in mouse pathological samples; TUNEL measured neuronal apoptosis levels; Nissl staining observed neuronal damage; immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of Iba-1, TH, and α-syn in substantia nigra denser (SN). The expression levels of oxidative stress factors and inflammatory factors were measured by kits. Flow cytometry measured mitochondrial membrane potential and Ca 2+ levels. MPTP intraperitoneal injection induced an increase in inflammatory factors in PD mice and promoted the oxidative stress response, and the inflammatory response was alleviated after electroacupuncture treatment. Electroacupuncture intervention effectively alters the decrease in oxidative stress levels and alleviates neuronal damage in PD mice. Electroacupuncture improves mitochondrial dysfunction induced by MPTP in PD mice by activating the SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway. We also confirmed that knocking down TRPC1 can inhibit the SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway, weaken the Ca 2+ content in mouse neuronal tissue, and promote cell apoptosis. Electroacupuncture improves neuronal damage and alleviates PD in mice through the TRPC1 and SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathways. In addition, electroacupuncture therapy can improve MPTP-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in PD mice and alleviate the PD process.