Electroacupuncture Promoting Axonal Regeneration in Spinal Cord Injury | NDT – Dove Medical Press

Posted: Published on December 16th, 2019

This post was added by Alex Diaz-Granados

Wei-Ping Xiao,1,* Li-Li-Qiang Ding,2,* You-Jiang Min,1,3 Hua-Yuan Yang,4 Hai-Hua Yao,3 Jie Sun,1 Xuan Zhou,1 Xue-Bo Zeng,1 Wan Yu1

1Spinal Department of Orthopedics and Department of Acupuncture, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China; 2Department of Hypertension, Shanghai Institute of Hypertension, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China; 3Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Eighth Peoples Hospital, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China; 4Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Engineering, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: You-Jiang Min Shanghai Eighth Peoples Hospital, Caobao Road 8, Shanghai 200235, Peoples Republic of China Tel +86 18221786381 Email myj2002@126.com

Hua-Yuan Yang Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cairen Road 1200, Shanghai 201203, Peoples Republic of China Tel +86 13651968830 Email yhyabcd@sina.com

Purpose: To observe the changes of Nogo/NgR and Rho/ROCK signaling pathway-related gene and protein expression in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI) treated with electroacupuncture (EA) and to further investigate the possible mechanism of EA for treating SCI. Methods: Allens method was used to create the SCI rat model. Sixty-four model rats were further subdivided into four subgroups, namely, the SCI model group (SCI), EA treatment group (EA), blocking agent Y27632 treatment group (Y27632) and EA+blocking agent Y27632 treatment group (EA+Y), according to the treatment received. The rats were subjected to EA and/or blocking agent Y27632 treatment. After 14 days, injured spinal cord tissue was extracted for analysis. The mRNA and protein expression levels were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Cell apoptosis changes in the spinal cord were evaluated by in situ hybridization. Hindlimb motor function in the rats was evaluated by Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan assessment methods. Results: Except for RhoA protein expression, compared with the SCI model group, EA, blocking agent Y27632 and EA+blocking agent Y27632 treatment groups had significantly reduced mRNA and protein expression of Nogo-A, NgR, LINGO-1, RhoA and ROCK II in spinal cord tissues, increased mRNA and protein expression of MLCP, decreased p-MYPT1 protein expression and p-MYPT1/MYPT1 ratio, and caspase3 expression, and improved lower limb movement function after treatment for 14 days (P<0.01 or <0.05). The combinationof EA and the blocking agent Y27632 was superior to EA or blocking agent Y27632 treatment alone (P < 0.01 or <0.05). Conclusion: EA may have an obvious inhibitory effect on the Nogo/NgR and Rho/ROCK signaling pathway after SCI, thereby reducing the inhibition of axonal growth, which may be a key mechanism of EA treatment for SCI.

Keywords: Nogo/NgR, Rho/ROCK, MLCP, MYPT1, spinal cord injury, Y27632, electroacupuncture

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Electroacupuncture Promoting Axonal Regeneration in Spinal Cord Injury | NDT - Dove Medical Press

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