Objective To observe the effect of acupuncture on the Akt/NF-кB signaling pathway in aging rats,and to explore the possible mechanism of acupuncture on the Pi Shu point to improve skeletal muscle atrophy to prevent and treat low back pain.Methods 32 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group,acupuncture group and positive drug group,8 rats in each group.The rats in the blank group were injected subcutaneously with 0.9％saline[300 mg/(kg·d)]on the back of the collar daily,and the rats in the remaining three groups were injected subcutaneously with an equal amount of D-galactose on the back of the collar daily for 12 weeks.From the 9th week,the acupuncture group was treated with acupuncture on both sides of the Pi Shu,while the positive drug group was treated with mixed amino acid gavage for 4 weeks.The skeletal muscle tissue morphology was observed by HE staining,the apoptosis of skeletal muscle cells was detected by TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling(TUNEL),the release of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 was detected by Elisa,and the protein expression levels of Akt,p-Akt,NF-κB and p-NF-κB were detected by Western Blot.Results Compared with the blank group,the skeletal muscle cell gap in the model group became wider,some myocytes were rounded,the number of myocyte apoptosis was high,and the levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased(P＜0.001,P＜0.01 and P＜0.05),and the protein expression levels of p-Akt,NF-κB and p-NF-кB were increased(P＜0.001);Compared with the model group,the muscle gap in the acupuncture and positive drug groud was narrower,myocytes were more closely arranged,the number of myocyte apoptosis was reduced,the levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β,IL-6andTNF-α decreased(P＜0.01,P＜0.01 and P＜0.05),and the expression levels of p-Akt,NF-κB and p-NF-κB were down-regulated(P＜0.001).Conclusion Acupuncture at Pi Shu can improve D-galactose-induced skeletal muscle aging and reduce the inflammatory response and apoptosis of skeletal muscle cells by inhibiting the Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway,which may be one of the potential mechanisms of action of acupuncture at Pi Shu point for the treatment of low back pain.
维普
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