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Background: Sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve remodeling play an important role in cardiac function after myocardial ischemia (MI) injury. Increasing evidence indicates that electroacupuncture (EA) can regulate cardiac function by modulating the autonomic nervous system (ANS), but little is known about its effectiveness on neural remodeling post-MI. Objectives: To investigate the role of EA in ANS remodeling post-MI. Methods: Adult male C57/BL6 mice were equally divided into the Control (Ctrl), MI and EA groups after generating the MI model by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Echocardiography and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium (TTC) staining were employed to evaluate cardiac function and infarct size after EA treatment for five consecutive days. Serum norepinephrine (NE) levels were measured by ELISA to quantify sympathetic activation. Then, ANS remodeling was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. Results: Our preliminary findings showed that EA increased ejection fraction and fractional shortening and reduced infarct area after MI injury. Serum NE levels in the EA group were significantly decreased compared with those in the MI group. IHC staining results demonstrated that the density of growth associated protein (GAP)43 and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive nerve fibers in the EA group were decreased with increased choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VACHT). Meanwhile, the results verified that mRNA and protein expression of GAP43 and TH were significantly inhibited by EA treatment in the MI mice, accompanied by elevated CHAT and VACHT. Conclusions: EA treatment could improve cardiac function and reduce infarct size by modulating sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve remodeling post-MI, thus helping the cardiac ANS reach a new balance to try to protect the heart from further possible injury.

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on food intake, body weight, number of taste bud cells and the expression of lipid taste bud receptor (CD36), Gα-gustducin, post-synaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) and neurofilament light chain (NFL) proteins in the tongue or hippocampus in obese rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying reducing body weight.A total of 30 male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups (The body weight, Lee's index and daily food consumption were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group (EA can reduce daily food consumption and body weight in obese rats, which is associated with its effects in down-regulating the expression of CD36 in taste buds and hippocampus, and up-regulating the expression of Gα-gustducin in the tongue, and PSD95 and NFL proteins in the hippocampus. It suggests that EA may regulate the feeding behavior of obese rats by influencing the cognitive memory mechanism involved in CD36 in hippocampus.

To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on the cardiac ejection fraction (EF), the number of macrophages in spleen and heart, and the expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in myocardium in mice with acute myocardial ischemia, and to explore the possible mechanism of EA pretreatment on promoting myocardial protection.A total of 30 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a control group, a model group and an EA pretreatment group, 10 rats in each group. The acute myocardial ischemia model was established by ligating the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery in the model group and EA pretreatment group, while threading but no ligating at left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery was applied in the control group. In the EA pretreatment group, mice were intervented with EA at bilateral "Neiguan" (PC 6), disperse-dense wave, frequency of 2 Hz/15 Hz, intensity of 2 mA; each EA treatment last for 20 min, once a day, and 3-day treatment was given before model establishment. The EF value was evaluated by ultrasonic cardiogram; the number of macrophages in spleen and heart was measured by flow cytometry; the expression level of NLRP3 and IL-1β in myocardium was measured by Western blot.Compared with the control group, the EF value was decreased in the model group (EA pretreatment could reduce the number of macrophages in spleen and heart, down-regulate the expression of NLRP3 and IL-1β in myocardial tissue in mice with acute myocardial ischemia, which could relieve the local inflammatory response and achieve the myocardial protective effect.

The therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on inflammatory pain has been well recognized clinically, but the mechanism is unclear. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), which is produced by regulatory T (Treg) cell, is a key anti-inflammatory cytokine for relieving inflammatory pain. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether EA could inhibit CFA-induced pain and attenuate inflammation progression by regulating the activation of immunocyte and inducing the expression of IL-10. In this study, mice were treated with EA (2/100 Hz, 2 mA) for five consecutive days after 1 day of CFA injection. The behavioral tests were measured and analyzed after the daily EA treatment; then, hind paw, spinal cord, and spleen tissues were prepared for assessment. The results showed that EA treatment significantly increased the mechanical threshold and thermal latency after CFA injection and boosted the expression of IL-10 in paw and spinal cord tissues. EA treatment promoted Treg cells; suppressed macrophage and neutrophils cells; reduced the expression of IL-1β, NLRP3, and TNF-α; and ultimately relieved inflammatory pain. The findings suggested that the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of EA treatment could be partially associated with suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines mediated by induction of IL-10.

Aims Electro-acupuncture pretreatment (EAP) plays a protective role in myocardial ischemia (MI) injury. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. A growing body of evidence suggests postinfarction inflammatory response directly affects the remodeling of ventricular function. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether EAP alleviates MI through NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition. Materials and methods We constructed an AMI model by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery after 3 days of EAP with C57BL/6 mice. Echocardiography and TTC staining were employed to evaluate cardiac function and infarct size after 24 h of ischemia. HE staining and immunohistochemistry were employed to determine inflammatory level. Then, inflammasome activation was detected by western blotting, and macrophage polarization and neutrophil infiltration were observed by flow cytometry. Key findings Our preliminary findings showed that EAP reduced the infarct area and increased fractional shortening (FS) and ejection fraction (EF) and decreased the degree of inflammation after AMI injury. Meanwhile, EAP inhibited the expression of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1 and IL-1β in ischemia myocardial tissue, companied by inhibiting the expression of F4/80+, CD11b+, CD206low macrophages and activated M2 macrophage, and decreasing Ly-6G+CD11b+ neutrophils in ischemia myocardial and spleen tissue. Significance EAP inhibits the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, promotes M2 polarization of macrophages and reduces the recruitment of neutrophils in damaged myocardium, thereby decreases the infarct size and improves the cardiac function.

To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), β3-adrenergic receptor (β3AR), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in myocardial tissue in ischemic myocardial injury rats, so as to reveal its underlying mechanisms in myocardial protection via anti-inflammation and sympathetic nerve remodeling.A total of 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operation (sham,Compared with the sham group, a marked myocardial infarction was found in the left ventricle tissue, accompanied with disordered arrangement of myocardial fibers and higher degree of inflammatory cell infiltration, and increased expression of IL-8, TH, β3AR and eNOS in the myocardium in the model group (EA intervention can reduce the myocardial infarct size (protective effect) in MI rats possibly by reducing inflammatory reaction and sympathetic nerve remodeling.

To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on sympathetic nerve-related substance in myocardial tissue in mice with myocardial ischemia (MI), and to explore its possible mechanism.Thirty adult male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group and an EA group, 10 mice in each one. The model of MI was established in the model group and EA group by ligating the left anterior descending branch of coronary artery. The mice in the sham operation group were not treated with ligating at left anterior descending branch of coronary artery, but the remaining procedure was similar with the model group. The mice in the EA group were treated with EA at "Neiguan" (PC 6) with 2 Hz/100 Hz of frequency and 2 mA of intensity, 20 min per treatment, once a day for totally 5 days. No EA was given for model group and sham operation group. The electrocardiogram was recorded and △ST value was calculated to evaluate the model. TTC staining was applied to evaluate the infarct size. Immunohistochemical (IHC) method was applied to evaluate the positive nerve fiber density in myocardial tissue. Western blot method was applied to test the protein expression levels of neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43).The electrocardiogram (lead II) results indicated compared with the sham operation group, the S-T segments in the model group and EA group were increased obviously (bothEA could increase the expression of NRG-1 and reduce the expression of TH and GAP-43 in myocardial tissues in MI mice, which could suppress sympathetic nerve hyperexcitability after infarction to achieve myocardial protection effect.

Acupuncture is considered to be a promising alternative therapy for depression. Nevertheless, up to now, it remains controversial on the effects exerted by acupuncture on behavioral changes in depression models. Consequently, it’s necessary to develop a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of acupuncture for model rats of depression. Ultimately, 90 studies involving 1861 models were identified. Behavioral indicators including the number of crossings (NC) and the number of rearings (NR) in open field test (OFT), the capacity of sucrose intake (CSI) and the rate of sucrose intake (RSI) in sucrose intake test (SIT), final weight (FW) and gain weight (GW) were employed as main outcomes in depression model rats. The pooled results showed that acupuncture had not less effect than western medicine on improving NC, NR, FW, GW, RSI (P > 0.05). However, the CSI improvement was poorer compared with west medicine (P

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is a key factor for tissue growth and fuel metabolism. The potential function of central IGF1 remains unclear. We previously observed that IGF1 expression is increased in the hypothalamus of obese mice lacking STAT5 in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we explored the potential metabolic function of central IGF1 by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of IGF1, over-expression of central IGF1 by administering an adeno-associated virus (AAV), and ICV injection of an anti-IGF1 antibody. Mice that over-expressed central IGF1 displayed increased appetite, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, decreased Pomc levels in the hypothalamus, and increased UCP1 expression in brown fat tissue. This is the first study demonstrating that central IGF1 regulates several important metabolic functions.

Acupuncture is reported to be effective in treating obesity related illnesses, but its mechanism is still unclear. To investigate this mechanism we applied electro-acupuncture (EA) in a mouse model of obesity and used RNA-seq to identify molecular consequences. Deletion of the transcription factor STAT5 from neurons (Stat5NKO) led to obesity. Acupuncture, in turn, reduced body weight and the ratio of epididymal white adipose tissue (Epi-WAT) to body weight, and it also decreased plasma concentrations of glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol. In addition, EA increased cold endurance of Stat5NKO obese mice. EA reversed altered gene expressions in the hypothalamus and Epi-WAT, especially in the hypothalamus in Stat5NKO obese mice. This study provides, for the first time, insight into genomic networks of obesity and their modulation by electro-acupuncture, which in turn reveals potential mechanisms that explain acupuncture-induced weight-loss.

Background Memory loss is the most prominent symptoms of brain aging, but there is currently no evidence-based treatment strategy. Acupuncture has been widely used in China and the effectiveness for improving learning and memory has been mentioned in previous studies. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture for improving learning and memory in animal experiments. Methods We searched Pubmed, Embase, Ovid Medline(R), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP) and Wanfang data Information Site to collect studies published up to December 2015. Study quality for each included article was evaluated according to the CAMARADES 10-item checklist. Outcome measure is Morris water maze. A meta-analysis was conducted according to the Cochrane systematic review method by using RevMan 5.3 software. Results Forty-two studies involving 944 animals were included. The quality score of the studies ranged from 2 to 8, with a mean of 5.3. Meta-analysis results showed that 24 studies reported significant effect of acupuncture for decreasing escape latency (−3.00, 95 % CI: −3.78 ~ −2.23, P

Excitatory amino acids toxicity is an onset causation of cerebral ischemia injury cascade reaction, and eventually leading to brain cell necrosis and apoptosis. Acupuncture is reported to be effective for ischemic stroke in clinical practice and animal experiments, but its mechanism is still under exploring. In this paper the authors introduce the research status of antiexcitatory amino acids toxicity effect of acupuncture in ischemic stroke animals by summarizing its effects on subunits of ionotropic glutamate receptor (NMDA/AMPA) and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), and on astrocyte activities. Results indicated that acupuncture intervention may down-regulate the expression levels of cerebral multi-types (NR 1, NR 2 B) of glutamate NMDA receptors, up-regulate expression of glutamate transporter-1, NR 2 A, cannabinoid receptor (CBR) type 1 and 2, and suppress activities of cerebral astrocytes, reduce the content of extracellular glutamate to lower its toxicity and to improve stroke at last. The present paper may provide a reference for acupuncture research on ischemic brain injury.

To observe features of Icariin in promoting osteogenic differentiation of SD rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro.(1) SD rats' BMSCs were isolated and purified by mechanically isolated and cultured by whole bone marrow adherent method. Effects of various concentrations Icariin on serum activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were detected using amino antipyrine phenol determination method at day 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21. Calcium nodes of each groups were detected using alizarin red staining. Roles of various concentrations Icariin in promoting osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs were observed. (2) BMSCs were divided into the blank control group, the osteogenic induced group, and the Icariin group (0.5 microg/mL). ALP activities were detected at day 7, 14, and 21 of culture. Meanwhile, ALP positive staining rate and calcium nodes were detected at day 14 and 21 respectively. Additionally, mRNA expressions of Runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx2) and Osteocalcin were detected at day 7, 14, and 21 by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR.(1) 0.05-5.0 microg/mL Icariin could significantly elevate serum ALP activities. Of them, 0.2-2.0 microg/mL Icariin significantly increased calcium nodes numbers (P0.01). (2) When Icariin promoted osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, Runx2 mRNA expression levels and ALP activities increased earlier and then decreased, while osteocalcin mRNA expression levels continued to increase (P0.01). Compared with the osteogenic induced group, ALP activities and ALP positive staining rate were both elevated after 14 days of Icariin treatment in the Icariin group (P0.05, P0.01).Icariin could promote the differentiation of BMSCs to osteoblasts by up-regulating Runx2 mRNA expression levels. It also could promote the mineralization by increasing ALP secretion and Osteocalcin mRNA expression levels, thereby promoting mature of newly generated osteoblasts.

This study investigated genome-wide gene expressions and the cardioprotective effects of electro-acupuncture pretreatment at the PC6 Neiguan acupoint on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. Male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham operation (SO), I/R, electro-acupuncture at the PC6 Neiguan acupoint pretreatment (EA) and electro-acupuncture at non-acupoint pretreatment (NA). Compared with the I/R group, the survival rate of the EA group was significantly increased, the arrhythmia score, infarction area, serum concentrations of CK, LDH and CK-Mb and plasma level of cTnT were significantly decreased. RNA-seq results showed that 725 genes were up-regulated and 861 genes were down-regulated under I/R conditions compared to the SO group, both EA and NA reversed some of these gene expression levels (592 in EA and 238 in NA group). KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these genes were involved in multiple pathways, including ECM, MAPK signaling, apoptosis, cytokine and leukocyte pathways. In addition, some pathways were uniquely regulated by EA, but not NA pretreatment, such as oxidative stress, cardiac muscle contraction, gap junction, vascular smooth muscle contraction, hypertrophic, NOD-like receptor, and P53 and B-cell receptor pathways. This study was first to reveal the gene expression signatures of acute myocardial I/R injury and electro-acupuncture pretreatment in rats.

Background Acupuncture exerts cardioprotective effects on several types of cardiac injuries, especially myocardial ischemia (MI), but the mechanisms have not yet been well elucidated. Angiogenesis mediated by VEGF gene expression and its modification through histone acetylation has been considered a target in treating myocardial ischemia. This study aims to exam whether modulation of angiogenesis through H3K9 acetylation regulation at VEGF gene is one possible cardioprotective mechanism of acupuncture. Results We generated rat MI models by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery and applied electroacupuncture (EA) treatment at the Neiguan (PC6) acupoint. Our results showed that acupuncture reversed the S-T segment change, reduced Q-wave area, decreased CK, CK-MB, LDH levels, mitigated myocardial remodeling, and promoted microvessel formation in the MI heart. RNA-seq analysis showed that VEGF-induced angiogenesis signaling was involved in the modulation of EA. Western blot results verified that the protein expressions of VEGF, Ras, phospho-p44/42 MAPK, phospho-p38 MAPK, phospho-SAPK/JNK and Akt, were all elevated significantly by EA treatment in the MI heart. Furthermore, increased H3K9 acetylation was also observed according with the VEGF. ChIP assay confirmed that EA treatment could notably stimulate the recruitment of H3K9ace at the VEGF promoter. Conclusions Our study demonstrates for the first time that acupuncture can effectively up-regulate VEGF expression through H3K9 acetylation modification directly at the VEGF promoter and hence activate VEGF-induced angiogenesis in rat MI models. We employed high throughput sequencing in this study and, for the first time, generated genome-wide gene expression profiles both in the rat MI model and in acupuncture treatment.

Background To study the influence of acupuncture and its possible mechanism on white adipose tissue of high fat diet-induced obese. Methods Four-week-old C57BL/6 J mice were randomly divided into a normal diet group and a high-fat diet (HFD) group. After 8 weeks, the HFD mice were randomly divided into Electro-acupuncture (EA) group and control group. Mice in the EA group were electro-acupunctured, under physical restraint, on Zusanli (ST36) and Neiting (ST44) acupoints, while the mice in the control group were under physical restraint only. Body weight and food intake were monitored, and serum leptin, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured by using biochemistrical methods. The effect of EA on white adipose tissues (WAT) was assessed by qPCR, immunobloting, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunoprecipitation and cold endurance experiment. Results The WAT/body weight ratio decreased (P