Impacts of Electroacupuncture on Protein Expressions of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 Pathway in Rats with Chronic Prostatitis
Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture on the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear transcription factor κB/NOD-like receptor protein 3(TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3)pathway in the prostate of rats with chronic prostatitis,and to explore the possible mechanisms of the electroacupuncture treatment of chronic prostatitis(CP).Methods Forty healthy male SD rats with SPF grade were randomly divided into the blank group,model group,electroacupuncture group,inhibitor group and agonist group with 8 rats in each.Except the blank group,the rest of the groups were given prostatic protein extraction and immunization injec-tion to prepare rat CP models.One day after model establishment,the rats in the electroacupuncture group,inhibitor group and agonist group were intervened by electroacupuncture at"Baihuanshu(BL30)"and"Huiyang(BL35)".Continuous waves with a frequency of 2 Hz were given once a day,20 min for each time,7 days as a course of treatment.There was a total of 2 courses of treatment with 1 day break in the middle.Behavioral tests were carried out based on the open-field test and sugar water con-sumption test.The rat prostate tissue was collected,and the wet weight and prostate index of the prostate were calculated.HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of the rat prostate tissue.TUNEL method was used to observe the apopto-sis of prostate cells.Western blot method was used to detect the expression sof TLR4,NF-κB and NLRP3 proteins in prostate tissue.Results Compared with those in the blank group,the horizontal movement score,vertical movement score and sugar water consumption of rats in the model group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the model group,the horizontal movement score,vertical movement score and sugar water consumption of the rats in the electroacupuncture group were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the electroacupuncture group,the horizontal motor score,vertical mo-tor score and sugar water consumption of the rats in the inhibitor group were significantly increased,while these indexes in the ag-onist group were decreased significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the blank group,the prostate wet weight and prostate index of rats in the model group were significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the prostate cell apoptosis was elevated significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the model group,the prostate wet weight and prostate index of rats in the electroacupuncture group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),and the prostate cell apoptosis decreased significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the acupuncture group,the wet weight and prostate index of the rats in the inhibitor group decreased significantly(P＜0.05),while increased significantly in the agonist group(P＜0.05).Also,the prostate cell apoptosis of the rats in the inhibitor group was further decreased(P＜0.05),and that in the agonist group was elevated(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the blank group,the protein expressions of TLR4,p-NF-κB/NF-κB and NLRP3 in the prostate tissue of the rats in the model group were significantly increased(P＜0.05).The protein expressions of p-NF-κB/NF-κB and NLRP3 were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Compared with those in the electroacupuncture group,the protein expressions of TLR4,p-NF-κB/NF-κB and NLRP3 in the prostate tissue of the rats in the inhibitor group significantly decreased(P＜0.05),while the expressions of TLR4,p-NF-κB/NF-κBband NLRP3 proteins in the prostate tissue of rats in the agonist group were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Electroacupuncture at"Baihuanshu(BL30)"and"Huiyang(BL35)"can significantly improve the symptoms of rat CP model and reduce the level of cell apoptosis.The mechanism could be related to the down-regulation of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway protein expressions,thereby inhibiting prostate cell apoptosis.
万方数据
维普
