Effect Of Heat-sensitive Moxibustionat On Apoptosis Of Brain Tissue In Neonatal Mice With Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy

Objective: To study the effect of Heat-Sensitive Moxibustion at Dazhui acupoint on neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy(NHIE)and to explore its mechanism.Methods: SPF-class healthy ICR mice(weight 3～5g)were divided into sham-operated group,hypoxic-ischemic model group and moxibustion group according to the principle of randomized control.The moxibustion group was divided into non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group(the tail temperature did not increase)and heat-sensitive moxibustion group(the tail temperature increased)according to the change of tail temperature of the mouse.The Hypoxic-ischemic model group and the moxibustion group were prepared NHIE model according to Rice-Vannucci and Levine’s prescription.Also,test indexes are based on the body weight of growth,neurobehavioral test(righting reflex,cliff avoidance reaction,geotaxis reflex,grip strength),morphological observation,TTC,TUNEL,caspase-9.Results: There was no significant difference in body weight between the four groups of newborn(7 days of age)in the statistics(P>0.05).Three days after operation,compared with the hypoxic-ischemic model group,the weight of the mice in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group and the heat-sensitive moxibustion group showed a rapid growth,and there were with statistical difference(P<0.05).Compared with the hypoxic-ischemic model group,the time of righting reflex,cliff avoidance reaction、geotaxis reflex test were significantly shortened in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group and the heat-sensitive moxibustion group,while the duration of the grip test was prolonged,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The infarct area of the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group and the heat-sensitive moxibustion group were lower than that of hypoxic-ischemic model group(P<0.05),and the infarct area of heat-sensitive moxibustion group was significantly reduced(P<0.05).In the hypoxic-ischemic model group,there was pale and liquefaction on the surface of the left said of the brain,atrophy of the brain tissue and extensive infarction,compared with the hypoxic-ischemic model group,the dead area of non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group was smaller,heat-sensitive moxibustion group had the smallest infarct area.On the left side of the hypoxic-ischemic model group,the arrangement of cells in the hypoxic-ischemic model group was disorderly,the cells were lost largely and the gap became large,compared with the hypoxic-ischemic model group,in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group only had a few cells,the number of cells abscission was the least in the heat-sensitive moxibustion group.The total number of TUNEL-positive cells in non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group and heat-sensitive moxibustion group was lower than that in the hypoxic-ischemic model group(P<0.05).The total number of TUNEL-positive cells in the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was lower than that in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group(P<0.05).The total number of caspase-9 positive cells in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group and the heat-sensitive moxibustion group were significantly lower than that in the hypoxic-ischemic model group(P<0.05),the total number of caspase-9 positive cells in the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was lower than that in the non-heat-sensitive moxibustion group(P<0.05).Conclusion: Heat-sensitive moxibustion at Dazhui acupoint can increase the body weight of neonatal mice with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy,the mechanism may be related to the decrease of caspase-9 positive expression and the decrease of the mount of cell apoptosis in brain tissue,which can improve the motor function,decrease the area of cerebral infarction and inhibit cell abscission.