Effects Of Acupuncture On The Wnt3a/β-catenin Signaling Pathway In Brain Of TBI Rats

Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture on the Wnt signaling pathway in rats with traumatic brain injury and to explore the pathogenesis and acupuncture intervention action on traumatic brain injury.Methods: Feeney’s freefall epidural impact method was used to establish a traumatic brain injury model in rats; the rats were randomly divided into a normal group, sham operation group, model group and acupuncture group. Acupuncture was performed in the Baihui(DU20), Shuigou(DU 26), Fengfu(DU 16), Yamen(DU 15) and Hegu(LI 4) acupuncture points in the rat, and Yamen was punctured via Fengfu. Then, the rats in each group were randomly divided into three subgroups, namely the day 3 subgroup, day 7 subgroup and day 14 subgroup according to treatment duration. The modified neurological severity scores(m Nss)method was used to perform neurobehavioral scoring for evaluating the degree of injury in the rats. The hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining method was used to observe the pathological change in the brain tissue of rats in each group. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(Q-PCR) technology was used to detect changes in the Wnt3 a andβ-catenin gene expression levels in the cortex on the injured side. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression changes.Results: One day 1 after modeling, the m Nss scores in the model group and in the acupuncture group were significantly higher than those in the normal and sham operation groups(P<0.01);there was no statistically significant difference between the normal group and the sham operation group. The scores decreased with increased treatment time, and the scores in the acupuncture group decreased more significantly than those in the model group. The pathological examination by the HE staining method demonstrated that the brain tissue of the rats in the acupuncture and model groups relatively significantly changed. The Wnt3 a gene expression level in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than the level in model group(P<0.05); theβ-catenin gene expression levels were also higher in the acupuncture group. The expression changes of the Wnt3 a andβ-catenin protein consistented with that of m RNA. In each experimental group, the m Nss score and the pathological results by the HE staining method were consistent with them RNA and protein results.Conclusion: Acupuncture could significantly promote high expression levels of Wnt3 a andβ-catenin in the brain tissue of traumatic brain injury rats. Therefore, acupuncture might be an important mechanism for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and promoting nerve regeneration and repair.