Effect of Acupuncture Intervention on Caspase-3 Pathway Related Proteins in VaD Rats
Objective To observe the effects of acupuncture on learning and memory ability and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase(Caspase)-3 pathway related proteins in vascular dementia(VaD)rats and its mechanism,and to explore the new target of acupuncture for the prevention and treatment of VaD.Methods Healthy male SD rats were divided into sham operation group,model group and acupuncture group randomly.The rats in sham operation group and model group were used to establish the VaD model.The Baihui(GV20),bilateral Shenshu(BL23)and Fenglong(ST40)were selected for acupuncture treatment for 2 weeks in acupuncture group,and no other intervention was performed in sham operation group and model group.The morphology of hippocampal CA1 and ethology were observed,and the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl-2,Caspase-3 and Bax were detected.Results Compared with sham operation group,the escape latency of model group was much longer(P<0.01);the number of crossing the platform reduced significantly(P<0.01);the protein expression and mRNA levels of Bax and Caspase-3 in hippocampal tissue increased significantly(P<0.01);while the protein expression and mRNA level of Bcl-2 decreased significantly(P<0.01).Compared with model group,the escape latency of acupuncture group was much shorter(P<0.01);the number of crossing the platform increased significantly(P<0.01);and the expression of mRNA and protein of Bax and Caspase-3 in hippocampal tissue of acupuncture group were significantly decreased(P<0.01);the protein expression and mRNA level of Bcl-2 increased significantly(P<0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture can improve the learning and memory ability of VaD rats,and its mechanism may be related to regulating the expression of Caspase-3 pathway related proteins and inhibiting neuronal apoptosis.
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