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Objective: To explore the mechanism of acupuncture for delaying aging., Methods: Using the senescence accelerated mouse pattern SAMP10 and the normal aging mice SAMR1 as models and applying RT-PCR and digoxin (DIG)-labeled Northern blot technique to observe expressions of NF-E2, YB-1, LRG47 genes in the forebrain, cortex and hippocampus in a 8-month old SAMR1 control group, a 8-month old SAMP10 control group, a 8-month old SAMP10 acupuncture group and a 8-month old SAMP10 non-point stimulation group., Results: In the SAMP10 control group, the expressions of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 were down-regulated in the forebrain, cortex and hippocampus, and after acupuncture they were up-regulated and tended to normal., Conclusion: The brain aging of the SAMP10 mice is related with abnormal expressions of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 genes; and acupuncture can regulate the expressions of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 genes, strengthening the functions of erythrocyte series, increasing the proliferation of cells and enhancing the cellular immune function in anti-bacteria, hence delaying aging.

Aging is the greatest risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Age-dependent alterations of cell signaling play an important role in the onset of AD. The serine/threonine kinase Akt is a critical cell signaling to neuronal survival. Using the senescence-accelerated mouse SAMP10, we investigated the effect of aging on AKT signaling in hippocampus tissue. During aging, the expression of Akt mRNA and protein remained stable. However, the constructive phosphorylation of Akt(Ser473) displayed a continuous decrease after 6 months in SAMP10. When compared with the control SAMR1, aged SAMP10 mice showed significant reduced phosphorylation of Akt(Ser473). SAMP10 at the age of 6 months showed obvious deterioration in performance of learning and memory tasks. Thus, the data reported here suggested a potential link between the age-related alteration of Akt(Ser473) and the deterioration in performance of learning and memory tasks in SAMP10 mouse.

Objective: To explore the mechanisms of puncturing Shenshu point in improving osteoporosis., Methods: Serum levels of testosterone (T) and osteocalcin (BGP) in senescence accelerated mouse prone 6 (SAMP6, test animals) and senescence accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1, for control) were determined by radioimmunoassay and their femoral biomechanical properties were determined with three-point bending test before and after puncturing to observe the effect of puncturing on the femoral biomechanical properties and bone mineral contents., Results: Compared with the SAMR1 control group, the serum level of T (20.91 +/- 3.41 nmol/L) decreased (11.09 +/- 1.48 nmol/L in SAMP6 mouse), BGP (6.7 +/- 2.07 microg/L) increased (12.29 +/- 2.29 microg/L in SAMP6 mouse), femoral bending strength lowered and fragility increased. These changes were all improved to some extent or normalized, serum T level 15.05 +/- 2.63 nmol/L and BGP 8.88 +/- 1.85 microg/L after needling at Shenshu point showed significant difference when compared with those in SAMP6., Conclusion: Puncturing Shenshu point could effectively prevent the bone loss in SAMP6 mice, increase their bone strength, the therapeutic effect is partly by way of promoting the secretion of sex hormone, improving bone metabolism, suppressing bone transformation rate and increasing bone minerals.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of acupuncture in delaying aging., Methods: Using SAMP10 mice and normal control SAMR1 as model and applying RT-PCR and DIG probed Northern blot techniques to observe expression of NF-E2, YB-1, LRG47 genes in whole brain, cortex and hippocampus in the 8-month SAMR1 control group, 8-month SAMP10 control group, 8-month SAMP10 acupuncture group and 8-month SAMP10 non-point acupuncture group., Results: In the SAMP10 control group, the expression of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 were down-regulated in the whole brain, cortex and hippocampus, and after acupuncture they were up-regulated and tended to normal., Conclusion: Aging of the SAMP10 mouse brain is related with expression of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 genes, and acupuncture can regulate the expression of NF-E2, YB-1 and LRG47 genes, improving the functions of erythrocyte series, increasing proliferation of cells and immune function of cells in anti-bacteria, hence anti-aging.

Objective: To probe the mechanism of acupuncture for anti-aging., Methods: In the senescence accelerated mouse the SAMP10 and the SAMR1, by using RT-PCR and DIG-labeled Northern blot technique, the expression differences of HSP84 and HSP86 genes in whole brain, cortex and hippocampus in the 4 groups,8-month SAMR1 control group, 8-month SAMP10 control group, 8-month SAMP10 acupuncture group and 8-month SAMP10 non-point acupuncture group were investigated., Results: In the SAMP10 control group, the expression of HSP84 and HSP86 were down-regulated in the whole brain, the cortex and the hippocampus, and they were up-regulated after acupuncture, tending to the normal group., Conclusion: Brain aging of the SAMP10 mouse is related with abnormal expression of HSP84 and HSP86 genes, and acupuncture can strengthen the protection of cells, inhibit apoptosis and anti-oxidative stress through regulating expression of HSP84 and HSP86, hence anti-aging.

Abstract: The senescence-accelerated mouse strain P6 (SAMP6) is an inbred mouse that represents a clinically relevant model of senile osteoporosis. However, whether osteoporotic SAMP6 mice have cognitive deficits remains largely unexplored. Here, we used Morris water maze to assess reference memory and working memory performance in SAMP6 mice and SAMR1 controls, at 4 and 8 months of age. In addition, unbiased stereological techniques were used to estimate total neuron number in hippocampal CA1 subfield of the mice used in the behavioral study. Morris water maze test revealed impairments in working memory but not in reference memory of the 4- and 8-month-old SAMP6 mice compared with the SAMR1 mice at the same age. However, there were no significant differences in the total numbers of neurons in hippocampal CA1 subfield when comparing 4-month-old SAMR1 and 4-month-old SAMP6 and 8-month-old SAMR1 and 8-month-old SAMP6, which indicate that, in SAMP6 mice, the structural correlates of working memory deficits are to be found in parameters other than the number of neurons in hippocampal CA1 subfield. These findings suggest that SAMP6 mice exhibit selective cognitive deficits and highlight the importance of this mouse model for studying the brain alterations associated with osteoporosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to explore the pathogenic mechanisms of cerebral senescence and its possible effective acupuncture therapy, we applied cDNA array technique to study expression of the aging-related genes in hippocampus and acupuncture effect on them. SAMP10 and SAMR1 were selected and randomly divided into four groups: R1 control group, P10 control group, P10 acupuncture group and P10 pseudo-acupuncture group. The results showed that acupuncture not only could partly or completely reverse the effect of aging on hippocampal gene expression, but also influence some gene expression which were unrelated to aging. However, pseudo-acupuncture had some effect on aging-unrelated gene expression and little or no effect on aging-related genes. Therefore, we suspect that acupuncture points may have both therapeutic effect and “stress-inducing reaction”. Pseudo-acupuncture has only “responsiveness” without therapeutic effect. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]