Electroacupuncture treatment improves motor function and neurological outcomes after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

• Published in: Neural regeneration research Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 1545 - 1555
• Main Authors: Li, Si-Si, Hua, Xu-Yun, Zheng, Mou-Xiong, Wu, Jia-Jia, Ma, Zhen-Zhen, Xing, Xiang-Xin, Ma, Jie, Shan, Chun-Lei, Xu, Jian-Guang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.07.2022; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation,Ministry of Education,Shanghai,China; Centerof Rehabilitation Medicine,Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China; School of Rehabilitation Science,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China%Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics,Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China%Centerof Rehabilitation Medicine,Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China%School of Rehabilitation Science,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China; Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation,Ministry of Education,Shanghai,China%School of Rehabilitation Science,Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Shanghai,China; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Animal research; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; dendritic; electroacupuncture; ischemia/reperfusion; motor function; neurite outgrowth inhibitor-a; neurological outcomes; nogo receptor; synapse; tyrosine kinase b; Electroacupuncture; Ischemia; Stroke; Traditional Chinese medicine; ischemia/reperfusion; neurite outgrowth inhibitor-A; Nogo receptor; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; electroacupuncture; motor function; synapse; tyrosine kinase B; dendritic; neurological outcomes
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.330617

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been widely used for functional restoration after stroke. However, its role in post-stroke rehabilitation and the associated regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we applied EA to the Zusanli (ST36) and Quchi (LI11) acupoints in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. We found that EA effectively increased the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor tyrosine kinase B, synapsin-1, postsynaptic dense protein 95, and microtubule-associated protein 2 in the ischemic penumbra of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. Moreover, EA greatly reduced the expression of myelin-related inhibitors Nogo-A and NgR in the ischemic penumbra. Tyrosine kinase B inhibitor ANA-12 weakened the therapeutic effects of EA. These findings suggest that EA can improve neurological function after middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion, possibly through regulating the activity of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tyrosine kinase B signal pathway. All procedures and experiments were approved by the Animal Research Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China (approval No. PZSHUTCM200110002) on January 10, 2020.