Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture modulates Glu/GABA-Gln metabolic loop abnormalities in insomniac rats
10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.06
- VernacularTitle:子午流注针法对失眠大鼠Glu/GABA-Gln代谢环路异常的调节作用
- Author:
Jiarong XU
1
;
Ao HUANG
;
Zhikai DING
;
Yu BAO
;
Canghuan ZHAO
;
Wenzhi CAI
Author Information
1. 南方医科大学深圳医院护理部,广东 深圳 518101;南方医科大学护理学院,广东 广州 510515
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
acupuncture;
glutamic acid;
γ-aminobutyric acid;
glutamic acid/γ-aminobutyric acid-glutamine metabolism loop;
insomnia
- From:
Journal of Southern Medical University
2025;45(8):1616-1624
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture in a rat model of insomnia and its regulatory effect on the glutamic acid(Glu)/γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)-glutamine(Gln)metabolic loop.Methods Forty male SD rats were randomly assigned to control group,model group,Najia group and Nazi group(n=10).In the latter 3 groups,rat models of insomnia were established by intraperitoneal injections of p-chlorophenylalanine and verified using a sodium pentobarbital-induced sleep test.After modeling,the rats in Najia and Nazi groups received acupuncture for 7 days at specifically chosen sets of acupoints based on the Ziwuliuzhu rationale in traditional Chinese medicine.Pathological changes in the hypothalamic tissue of the rats were examined with HE staining,and the levels of Glu and GABA in the hypothalamus were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)-mass spectrometry(MS)/MS.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of GABAA receptors(GABAARs)in the hypothalamus,and the expression levels of glutamate decarboxylase(GAD65/67)and glutamine synthetase(GS)were determined with Western blotting.Results Compared with the model group,the rats in Najia and Nazi groups exhibited decreased Glu levels and GABAA receptor expression and increased GABA levels with a decreased Glu/GABA ratio in the hypothalamus.Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture significantly increased the protein expressions of GAD65 and GAD67 and lowered the expression of GS in the hypothalamus in the rat models of insomnia.Conclusion Ziwuliuzhu acupuncture produces sedative and hypnotic effects in rat models of insomnia possibly by regulating Glu and GABA-Gln metabolism to restore the excitatory/inhibitory balance between Glu and GABA.
