Using histochemical techniques for showing cholinesterase and catecholamines,weinvestigated the changes of these neurotransmitters in the parasympathetic nervouscenters(medial preoptic area and dorsal vagal nucleus)of acupunctured rats by com-parison with the corresponding nucleus and area of the normal rats.A total of 38animals were used,19 in each group were studied.Preliminary results obtained wereas follows:(1)It was shown that the number of cases with stronger and medium activityof cholinesterase in parasympathetic nervous centers of acupunctured group was lowerthan that of control group,and it was more obvious in dorsal vagal nucleus(P=0.05)(2)There was no significant change of the NA content within CA fiber's termi-nals of parasympathetic nervous centers in acupunctured group when compared withthose of controls.Based on these results,the relationship between the effects of parasympatheticnervous centers was discussed.Our data suggested that acupuncture might probablyinduce a relative excitation on the activity of parasympathetic nervous centers,but itseems not related with the change of the content of norepinephrine.

Objective To evaluate the biological toxicity of heavy metals by using Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods The C. elegans at L4 stage were exposed to CdCl2 CrCl3 As2O3 PbCl2 HgCl2 with low concentrations and M9 buffer the control group for 72 h respectively and the effects of heavy metals with different concentrations on the survival time and reproduction of C. elegans were evaluated. Results After exposure to 2.5 10μmol/L HgCl2 and PbCl2 10μmol/L CdCl2 and 50μmol/L CrCl3 for 72 h respectively the life spans and survival curves of the C. elegans were different from those in the control group the differences were statistically significant all P<0.05 . After exposure to CdCl2 CrCl3 As2O3 PbCl2 and HgCl2 with the con?centrations of 2.5 50 100μmol/L for 72 h respectively the generational time and brood size of C. elegans were all different from those in the control group all P<0.01 . Among the 5 heavy metals at low concentrations the reproduction toxicity of Hg was bigger than Pb Cd Cr and the toxicity of As was the weakest. Conclusion Heavy metal exposure can affect the life span and reproductive toxicity of C. elegans.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of acupuncture and medication on PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in rats with premature ovarian failure.

METHODSTen of fifty SPF-grade female SD rats were randomly selected into a normal group, and the remaining 40 rats were treated with intraperitoneal injection of cyclophospha mide (30 mg/kg) for consecutive 5 days to establish rat model of premature ovarian failure. Thirty five successful rat models were randomly divided into a model group (9 cases), a medication group (9 cases), an acupuncture group A (9 cases) and an acupuncture group B (8 cases). The rats in the model group and normal group did not receive any treatment. The rats in the medication group were treated with intragastric administration of diethylstil bestrol, once a day. The rats in the acupuncture group A and acupuncture group B were respectively treated with acupuncture at different acupoints, twice a day. All the treatment was given for 4 weeks. After the treatment, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to test the levels of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteotropic hormone (LH). The ovarian tissue sample was processed with hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining as well as RNA and protein extraction to test the mRNA expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), estrogen receptor beta (ERP), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine/threonine kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR).

RESULTSHigh-dose short-term in- tervention of cyclophosphamide could establish rat model of premature ovarian failure with a successful rate of 87.5%. Compared with the normal group, the vaginal smear in the model group was featured with signs of estro gen deficiency, early-follicle reduction, structural damage to the follicle, and reducing number of mature follicles; the level of E2 was significantly reduced (P<0.05), levels of P, FSH and ILH were increased (all P<0.05), and mRNA expression of estrogen-related ERP3, PI3K, Akt and mTOR were all reduced (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the number of mature follicle was increased in the medication group and acupuncture groups, the levels of E2 was obviously increased (all P<0.05). level of FSH was reduced (all P<0.05), and mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt and mTOR all showed an increasing trend (all P<0.05). The differences of each index result between acupuncture groups and medication group were not significant (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture has certain advantage for the treatment of premature ovarian failure, which achieves similar therapeu tic effect as estrogen; the possible mechanism may be related to up-regulation of gene and protein expression in PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Estradiol ; blood ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Oncogene Protein v-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Primary Ovarian Insufficiency ; blood ; enzymology ; genetics ; therapy ; Progesterone ; blood ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism