Electricity For Ischemia Rats Back Edema And The Effect Of Angiogenesis And Its Mechanism

Stroke, a type of cardiovascular diseases, is a leading cause of severe, long-term disability. Patients with stroke often require extensive long-term care, therefore bring heavy burden to society and families. How to prevent stroke-induced neurological deficits is still a highlight in such research area.Acupuncture is one of the main modalities of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine, and considered as a safe and effective therapy with minimal discomfort in many clinic studies in China, Japan and Korea. However, the mechanisms underlying are still unclear. In the present study, we successfully established acute focal brain ischemia model by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Using this model, we made observations on the protective effects of electroacupuncture on ischemic rats, and further investigated the expression patterns of aquaporin4(AQP4), succinate receptor GPR91, and vascular endothelia growth factor (VEGF) during ischemia/reperfusion with or without electroacupuncture treatment.1, Protective effects of electroacupuncture against cerebral ischemic injury(1) Electroacupuncture decreased ischemic-induced infarction. Our results showed that cerebral infarction rose to the peak on day3after reperfusion. Although there is a decrease on day7, comparing with that of day3, the infarction rose up again on day14. Electroacupuncture significantly decreased the infarction on day3, day7and day14, respectively.(2) Electroacupuncture decreased ischemic-induced swelling. Our results showed that swelling appeared early on day1after reperfusion, and reached the peak on day3. Electroacupuncture remarkably decreased ischemic-induced swelling on day1,3,7and14.(3) Electroacupuncture reduced permeability of brain blood barrier (BBB). Our results showed that the disruption of BBB was visible early at1h after reperfusion onset, and reached the peak on day3. There were almost no IgG positive particles at each timepoint under electroacupuncture treatment.(4) Electroacupuncture further enhanced ischemic-induced angiogenesis. Our results showed that there is light angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia. Electroacupuncture significantly promoted angiogenesis in ischemic hemisphere on day7and day14after reperfusion.2, AQP4expression pattern during ischemia/reperfusionOur results showed that AQP4expression levels rapidly increased within24h after reperfusion, and remarkably declined on day7and day14. When compared with ischemia group, electroacupuncture significantly upregulated AQP4expression in striatum during early reperfusion stage (1h and3h), whereas down-regulated at6h post-reperfusion. As for the relatively late stage of reperfusion (day7and day14), AQP4levels were still higher in electroacupuncture group than that in ischemia group.3, GPR91expression pattern during ischemia/reperfusionOur results showed that GPR91expression increased notably on1h after reperfusion onset, and was kept at relatively high levels within24h post-reperfusion, then declined significantly on day7and day14. When compared with ischemia group, electroacupuncture significantly upregulated GPR91expression at lh post-reperfusion, whereas down-regulated on3h and6h post-reperfusion. After that, the expression level of GPR91remarkably rose on24h post-reperfusion. As for the relatively late stage of reperfusion (day7), GPR91levels were still higher in electroacupuncture group than that in ischemia group.4, VEGF expression pattern during ischemia/reperfusionOur results showed that VEGF expression increased accompanied with the prolongation of reperfusion time. When compared with ischemia group, electroacupuncture significantly upregulated VEGF expression levels at1h post-reperfusion, whereas down-regulated on3h post-reperfusion. After24h reperfusion, the striatum VEGF level was higher than that of ischemia group. As for the relatively late stage of reperfusion, cortical VEGF level was still higher than that of ischemia on day7, whereas striatal VEGF level was remarkably lower.In conclusion, the above results indicate that electroacupuncture significantly reduces ischemic-induced infarction and swelling, decreases the permeability of BBB after ischemia injury, and further enhances angiogenesis in ischemic hemisphere. Electroacupuncture gives dynamical modulation on the expression of AQP4, GPR91and VEGF during early and late reperfusion stage, and these might possibly link to its protective effect against edema and for angiogenesis.