| Purpose: To study the effect of acupoint catgut embedding intervention on the expression of apoptotic factor Bcl-2 and Bax in cochlear spiral ganglion of senile deaf mice,to explore the possible mechanism of acupoint persistent benign stimulation improving senile hearing loss from the perspective of apoptosis,and to verify the important role of Shenshu(BL23)and Zusanli(ST36)in health care and anti-aging.Material and method: Thirty healthy male C57BL/6 mice aged 11 weeks were selected and fed adaptively for one week.At the age of 12 weeks,mice were anesthetized and tested for auditory brainstem response(ABR).Then they were randomly divided into youth group,natural aging group and catgut embedding group,with 10 mice in each group.At the end of ABR test,10 young mice were decapitated and cochlea were taken for reserve.The natural aging mice were fed for 16 weeks.The catgut embedding mice in the catgut embedding group received acupoint catgut embedding at Shenshu(BL23)and Zusanli(ST36)on both sides.The catgut embedding was performed once in 2 weeks,totally 8 times.At the age of 28 weeks,20 mice in natural aging group and catgut embedding group were tested for ABR again.After the detection,the cochlea was decapitated and sacrificed.The morphological structure of the cochlea was observed.The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins in the cochlea was detected by Western blot.Results:1.The results of auditory function(ABR threshold)test showed that: compared with the youth group,the ABR threshold in the natural aging group increased significantly at all frequencies,and the high-frequency band increased more significantly,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P < 0.05);The ABR threshold of the former was lower than that of the latter at all frequencies,and the difference was statistically significant(P < 0.05);Compared with the younger group,the ABR threshold in the catgut embedding group increased at various frequencies,but the increase was less than that in the natural aging group(P < 0.05).2.The morphological structure of the cochlea showed that the basement membrane of the young mice was normal,the cells arranged neatly,the stria vascularis did not break,the shape was normal,there was no erythrocyte exudation,the structure of spiral ligament was compact,the staining was uniform,adjacent to the lateral wall of the cochlea,and there was no gap.In the natural aging group,the stria vascularis thinned and broken,the spiral ligament is partly dissolved and knotted.The basement membrane morphology of the embedding group was basically normal,with occasional rupture of stria vascularis,a small amount of proliferation in the spiral ligament area,but the distance between the embedding group and the lateral wall of the cochlea was not significantly widened.3.Western Blot results showed that compared with the young group,the expression of Bcl-2 protein in the cochlea of mice in the natural aging group was significantly decreased and the expression of Bax protein was significantly increased,with significant difference between the two groups(P < 0.05);The expression of Bcl-2 in catgut embedding group was much higher than that in natural aging group,while the expression of Bax in catgut embedding group was much lower than that in natural aging group(P < 0.05);Compared with the youth group,the expression of Bcl-2 protein in the catgut embedding group decreased,but the decrease was less than that in the natural aging group.The expression of Bax protein increased,but the increase was also less than that in the natural aging group.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P < 0.05).Conclusions:1.At the age of 28 weeks,C57BL/6 mice had obvious hearing loss,especially high frequency hearing loss,which accorded with the characteristics of senile deafness and could be used as an animal model of senile deafness.2.Catgut embedding intervention at Shenshu(BL23)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints can improve hearing loss in senile deaf mice.3.The mechanism of Catgut Embedding at Shenshu(BL23)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints in preventing and treating senile deafness may be through up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 protein in cochlea and down-regulating the expression of Bax protein.4.It is proved that Shenshu(BL23)and Zusanli(ST36)play an important role in health care and delaying senile deafness. |
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