Objective To observe the effect of tuina on glutamate content and synaptic ultrastructure in spinal dorsal horn of rats with chronic sciatic nerve compression injury;To explore the potential mechanism of tuina regulation of the SNAP25/VGLUT2 pathway in alleviating lumbar disc herniation.Methods A chronic sciatic nerve compression injury model was used to simulate neuropathic pain in lumbar disc herniation.24 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group and tuina group,with 8 rats in each group.From the 4th day after modeling,the tuina group was intervened with the tuina method for 10 minutes once a day for 14 consecutive days.The paw withdrawal threshold(PWT)and paw withdrawal latency(PWL)of rats in each group on the day before modeling,and the 4th,10th,14th and 17th days after modeling were detected.The spinal cord tissue of the modeling side was taken,synaptic ultrastructure of spinal dorsal horn neurons was observed using transmission electron microscopy,immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of NR2A in the spinal dorsal horn,Western blot was used to detect the expression of SNAP25 protein in the spinal dorsal horn,immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn,ELISA was used to detect the content of glutamate in the spinal dorsal horn.Results Compared with the blank group,PWT and PWL of the model group were significantly reduced on the 4th,10th,14th and 17th days after modeling(P<0.001),with accumulation of vesicles in the presynaptic membrane of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord,increase in the area of the postsynaptic dense zone,and enlargement of the synaptic cleft,while the protein expressions of NR2A,SNAP25 and VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn increased(P<0.05,P<0.001),and the content of glutamate increased(P<0.001).Compared with the model group,PWT and PWL of the tuina group rats significantly increased on the 10th,14th and 17th days after modeling(P<0.001),synaptic vesicles were evenly distributed,the area of the postsynaptic dense zone decreased,and the synaptic cleft decreased,while the protein expressions of NR2A,SNAP25 and VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn decreased(P<0.05,P<0.001),and the content of glutamate decreased(P<0.01).Conclusion Tuina may regulate the content of glutamate through the SNAP25/VGLUT2 pathway in the spinal dorsal horn,improve the synaptic ultrastructure of neurons,and have an analgesic effect on lumbar disc herniation.

Objective To observe the effect of tuina on glutamate content and synaptic ultrastructure in spinal dorsal horn of rats with chronic sciatic nerve compression injury;To explore the potential mechanism of tuina regulation of the SNAP25/VGLUT2 pathway in alleviating lumbar disc herniation.Methods A chronic sciatic nerve compression injury model was used to simulate neuropathic pain in lumbar disc herniation.24 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group and tuina group,with 8 rats in each group.From the 4th day after modeling,the tuina group was intervened with the tuina method for 10 minutes once a day for 14 consecutive days.The paw withdrawal threshold(PWT)and paw withdrawal latency(PWL)of rats in each group on the day before modeling,and the 4th,10th,14th and 17th days after modeling were detected.The spinal cord tissue of the modeling side was taken,synaptic ultrastructure of spinal dorsal horn neurons was observed using transmission electron microscopy,immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of NR2A in the spinal dorsal horn,Western blot was used to detect the expression of SNAP25 protein in the spinal dorsal horn,immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn,ELISA was used to detect the content of glutamate in the spinal dorsal horn.Results Compared with the blank group,PWT and PWL of the model group were significantly reduced on the 4th,10th,14th and 17th days after modeling(P<0.001),with accumulation of vesicles in the presynaptic membrane of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord,increase in the area of the postsynaptic dense zone,and enlargement of the synaptic cleft,while the protein expressions of NR2A,SNAP25 and VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn increased(P<0.05,P<0.001),and the content of glutamate increased(P<0.001).Compared with the model group,PWT and PWL of the tuina group rats significantly increased on the 10th,14th and 17th days after modeling(P<0.001),synaptic vesicles were evenly distributed,the area of the postsynaptic dense zone decreased,and the synaptic cleft decreased,while the protein expressions of NR2A,SNAP25 and VGLUT2 in the spinal dorsal horn decreased(P<0.05,P<0.001),and the content of glutamate decreased(P<0.01).Conclusion Tuina may regulate the content of glutamate through the SNAP25/VGLUT2 pathway in the spinal dorsal horn,improve the synaptic ultrastructure of neurons,and have an analgesic effect on lumbar disc herniation.

Objective To observe the effects of tuina on P2Y12/RhoA/ROCK2 pathway and c-Fos protein expression of microglia in spinal dorsal horn of sciatic nerve chronic compressive injury(CCI)rats;To explore the mechanism of tuina in treating lumbar disc herniation.Methods A CCI model of right sciatic nerve was used to simulate neuropathic pain in lumbar disc herniation.24 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group and tuina group,with 8 rats in each group.After 4 days of modeling,massage intervention was used to in the tuina group for 14 days.The paw withdrawal threshold(PWT)and paw withdrawal latency(PWL)of rats before and on the 4th,10th,and 17th day after modeling were observed,immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of Iba1 and P2Y12 protein in right spinal dorsal horn,Western blot was used to detect the expressions of RhoA and ROCK2 protein in right spinal dorsal horn,immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect the number of c-Fos positive cells in right spinal dorsal horn.Results Compared with the blank group,the PWT and PWL of the model group were significantly reduced on the 4th,10th,and 17th day after modeling(P<0.001),while the expressions of Iba1,P2Y12,RhoA and ROCK2 protein in right spinal dorsal horn significantly increased(P<0.001,P<0.05),the number of c-Fos positive cells significantly increased(P<0.001).Compared with the model group,the PWT and PWL of the tuina group significantly increased on the 10th and 17th day after modeling(P<0.05,P<0.01,P<0.001),and the expressions of Iba1,P2Y12,RhoA and ROCK2 protein in right spinal dorsal horn significantly decreased(P<0.001,P<0.01,P<0.05),and the number of c-Fos positive cells significantly reduced(P<0.001).Conclusion Tuina may inhibit the activation of microglia by regulating P2Y12/RhoA/ROCK2 pathway and c-Fos protein expression in spinal dorsal horn,reduce neuronal excitability,and exert analgesic effects on lumbar disc herniation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the regulatory effect of berberine on autophagy and apoptosis balance of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) from patients with in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and explore the mechanism. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 μmol/L berberine on RA-FLS proliferation was assessed using CCK-8 method. Annexin V/PI and JC-1 immunofluorescence staining was used to analyze the effect of berberine (30 μmol/L) on apoptosis of 25 ng/mL TNF-α- induced RA-FLSs, and Western blotting was performed to detect the changes in the expression levels of autophagy- and apoptosis-related proteins. The cells were further treated with the autophagy inducer RAPA and the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine to observe the changes in autophagic flow by laser confocal detection of mCherry-EGFP-LC3B. RA-FLSs were treated with the reactive oxygen species (ROS) mimic H₂O₂ or the ROS inhibitor NAC, and the effects of berberine on ROS, mTOR and p-mTOR levels were observed. RESULTS: The results of CCK-8 assay showed that berberine significantly inhibited the proliferation of RA-FLSs in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometry and JC-1 staining showed that berberine (30 μmol/L) significantly increased apoptosis rate (P < 0.01) and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential of RA-FLSs (P < 0.05). Berberine treatment obviously decreased the ratios of Bcl-2/Bax (P < 0.05) and LC3B-II/I (P < 0.01) and increased the expression of p62 protein in the cells (P < 0.05). Detection of mCherry-EGFP-LC3B autophagy flow revealed obvious autophagy flow block in berberine-treated RA-FLSs. Berberine significantly reduced the level of ROS in TNF-α-induced RA-FLSs and upregulated the expression level of autophagy-related protein p-mTOR (P < 0.01); this effect was regulated by ROS level, and the combined use of RAPA significantly reduced the pro-apoptotic effect of berberine in RA-FLSs (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Berberine can inhibit autophagy and promote apoptosis of RA-FLSs by regulating the ROS-mTOR pathway.
Humans ; Synoviocytes ; Berberine/metabolism* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Hydrogen Peroxide/metabolism* ; Sincalide/metabolism* ; Cell Proliferation ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Fibroblasts ; Autophagy ; Cells, Cultured