Neuroprotective effects of electroacupuncture on early-and late-stage spinal cord injury

摘要

Previous studies have shown that the neurite growth inhibitor Nogo-A can cause secondary neural damage by activating Rho A. In the present study, we hypothesized that electroacupuncture promotes neurological functional recovery after spinal cord injury by inhibiting Rho A expression. We established a rat model of acute spinal cord injury using a modification of Allen's method. The rats were given electroacupuncture treatment at Dazhui(Du14), Mingmen(Du4), Sanyinjiao(SP6), Huantiao(GB30), Zusanli(ST36) and Kunlun(BL60) acupoints with a sparsedense wave at a frequency of 4 Hz for 30 minutes, once a day, for a total of 7 days. Seven days after injury, the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan(BBB) locomotor scale and inclined plane test scores were significantly increased, the number of apoptotic cells in the spinal cord tissue was significantly reduced, and Rho A and Nogo-A m RNA and protein expression levels were decreased in rats given electroacupuncture compared with rats not given electroacupuncture. Four weeks after injury, pathological tissue damage in the spinal cord at the site of injury was alleviated, the numbers of glial fibrillary acidic protein- and neurofilament 200-positive fibers were increased, the latencies of somatosensory-evoked and motor-evoked potentials were shortened, and their amplitudes were increased in rats given electroacupuncture. These findings suggest that electroacupuncture treatment reduces neuronal apoptosis and decreases Rho A and Nogo-A m RNA and protein expression at the site of spinal cord injury, thereby promoting tissue repair and neurological functional recovery.