Effect of early intervention with electroacupuncture on behavior and gut microbiota in mice with post-traumatic stress disorder
10.3760/cma.j.cn371468-20220614-00325
- VernacularTitle:电针早期干预对创伤后应激障碍模型小鼠行为及肠道菌群的影响
- Author:
Min XI
1
;
Huan YU
;
Zhengwu PENG
;
Fen XUE
;
Cuihong ZHOU
Author Information
1. 西北工业大学医院，西安 710072
- Keywords:
Post-traumatic stress disorder;
Electroacupuncture;
Early intervention;
Gut microflora;
Mouse
- From:
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science
2023;32(4):289-295
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the effect of early intervention with electroacupuncture (EA) on the gut microbiota in a mouse model of post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD).Methods:Totally 32 C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to the following 4 groups ( n=8 for each group): Control group, EA group, PTSD group and PTSD+ EA group.After 7 days acclimation, mice in the PTSD group and PTSD+ EA group were subjected to modified single prolonged stress (mSPS). Mice in the EA group and PTSD+ EA group received EA (2/15 Hz, 1 mA, dilatational wave, 30 min/d) on "Baihui" for 7 days. Mice in the Control group and PTSD group received false stimulation (stimulated the same acupiont without electricity) for 7 days. Seven days after the last stimulation, elevated plus maze test and fear conditioning test were conducted to observe the effect of EA on PTSD-like behavior of mice. At the same time, feces of the mice were collected for gut microbiota detection by 16S rRNA sequencing.SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis.One-way ANOVA was used for multiple group comparison and Bonferrani test was done for further pairwise comparision. Results:(1) There were statistically differences in the open arm activity time of the elevated plus maze test and the immobility time in contextual and cued fear conditioning test among the four groups ( F=6.93, 5.26, 14.51, all P<0.01). In the elevated plus maze test, mice in PTSD group ((60.17±15.52) s) showed significant less time in the open arms than mice in Control group((96.37±14.62) s) and PTSD+ EA group ((86.89±15.02) s) (both P<0.05). In the fear conditioning test, mice in PTSD group ((121.99±29.67) s, (130.82±29.11) s) showed significant increased immobility time both in contextual and cued fear conditioning tests than mice in Control group((74.50±26.65) s, (39.50±23.52) s) and PTSD+ EA group ((76.77±22.60) s, (102.17±3.39) s)(both P<0.05). (2) There were no significant differences among the four groups in the alpha diversity of gut microbiota ( F=0.79-2.45, all P>0.05). (3)Correlation analysis showed that 13 gut microbiotas were negatively correlated with the immobility time in contextual fear conditioning test, 2 gut microbiotas were positively correlated with it; 7 gut microbiotas were negatively correlated with the immobility time in cued fear conditioning test, 1 gut microbiota was positively correlated with it; 3 gut microbiotas were positively correlated with time spent in open arms of elevated plus maze test. Conclusion:Early intervention with EA can improve anxiety-fear like behaviors and gut microflora disorder in PTSD model mice.
