Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation at"Tianshu"(ST25)and"Shangjuxu"(ST37)acupoints on the protein expressions of TLR9/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in colonic tissue of model rats with ulcerative colitis
Objective To observe the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS)on toll-like receptor 9(TLR9)/myeloid differentiation factor 88(MyD88)/nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)signaling pathway-related protein expressions in colonic tissue of ulcerative colitis(UC)model rats based on the principle of"He-sea and front-Mu point combination",and to explore the related mechanisms of TENS in treating UC.Methods Twelve of 48 SPF adult SD rats were randomly selected as blank group.The remaining 36 UC rat models were prepared by 2-4-6 trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid(TNBS)/ethanol method,and then randomly divided into model,TENS,and positive drug groups after modeling,with 12 rats in each group.Intervention began on the first day after modeling.Model group was only bound and fixed;TENS group was stimulated at"Tianshu"(ST25)and"Shangjuxu"(ST37)acupoints after being bound and fixed;positive drug group was intragastrically administered with 225 mg/kg of sulfasalazine suspension.All groups were intervened once a day for a total of 10 times.The daily food intake and body weight of rats in each group were observed and recorded.After the intervention,HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of colonic tissue in each group,ELISA to check the content of inflammatory factors of interleukin-6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),and interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and Western blot to examine the changes in the expression levels of TLR9,MyD88,and NF-κB proteins.Results(1)Compared with blank group,the colonic tissue of rats in model group showed obvious ulceration,large-area atrophy of epithelial cells,extensive infiltration of inflammatory factors,and increased content of IL-6 and TNF-α(P<0.05);the expression levels of TLR9,MyD88,and NF-κB proteins were up-regulated(P<0.05).(2)Compared with model group,TENS and positive drug groups showed milder colonic tissue damage,more sufficient epithelial cell mucus,fewer glandular branches,and smaller area of inflammatory cell infiltration;the content of IL-6 and TNF-α decreased(P<0.05);the expression levels of TLR9 and NF-κB proteins were reduced(P<0.05).(3)Compared with positive drug group,the content of TNF-α and IL-1β and the expression levels of TLR9,MyD88,and NF-κB proteins in TENS group were relatively higher(P<0.05).Conclusion TENS can protect intestinal epithelial cells and alleviate intestinal inflammation,and its mechanism may be related to reducing the level of pro-inflammatory factors in colonic cells and inhibiting the overexpression of TLR9/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway proteins.
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
维普
