Electro-acupuncture induced NGF, BDNF and NT-3 expression in spared L6 dorsal root ganglion in cats subjected to removal of adjacent ganglia

This study evaluated the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on the NGF, BDNF and NT-3 expression in spared L6 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in cats subjected to bilateral removal of L1-L5 and L7-S2 DRG, using immunostaining, in situ hybridization and RT-PCR. The positive products of NGF, NT-3 protein and mRNA in the small and large neurons of spared L6 DRG in EA side increased greatly more than that of control side, while the increased BDNF was only noted in small and medium-sized neurons. RT-PCR demonstrated that the mRNA level for three factors was not influenced by EA in intact DRG, when a significant increase was seen in the spared L6 DRG of EA side. As it has been well known that DRG neurons project to the spinal cord wherein morphological plasticity has been present after DRG removal, the present results might have some bearing to the observed phenomenon.