Effects of Acupuncture-rehabilitation Therapy on Neurological Function and Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors, Flt-1 and Flk-1, after Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats
10.3969/j.issn.1006-9771.2017.05.006
- VernacularTitle:针康法对脑缺血大鼠神经功能和缺血半暗区皮层血管内皮生长因子受体表达的影响
- Author:
Tao YE
;
Qiang TANG
;
Luwen ZHU
;
Huijie CHEN
;
Xiaojun WU
;
Hongyu LI
;
Yuan TIAN
- Keywords:
cerebral ischemia;
acupuncture-rehabilitation therapy;
neurological function;
vascular endothelial growth factor receptors;
Flt-1;
Flk-1;
rats
- From:
Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice
2017;23(5):520-524
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To explore the effect of acupuncture-rehabilitation therapy on neurological function and expression of Flt-1 and Flk-1, members of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, after permanent focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Methods Ninety male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups, namely sham group, model group, acupuncture group, rehabilitation group and acupunc-ture-rehabilitation group, and each group was further divided into 3-day, 7-day and 14-day subgroups, equally. Their middle cerebral arteries were occluded except those of sham group. The sham and model groups accepted no treatment, while the acupuncture group accepted clus-ter needling of scalp acupuncture, the rehabilitation group accepted treadmill training, and the acupuncture-rehabilitation group accepted both acupuncture and treadmill training. They were assessed with modified Neurologic Severity Score (mNSS) 3, 7 and 14 days after model-ing, while the expression of Flt-1 and Flk-1 were determined with Western blotting. Results The mNSS score reduced in all the treatment groups (P<0.05) compared with that of the model group at every time point, and was the least in the acupuncture-rehabilitation group (P<0.05) 7 and 14 days after modeling among the treatment groups. Meanwhile, the expression of Flt-1 and Flk-1 protein increased in all the treatment groups (P<0.05), and was the most in the acupuncture-rehabilitation group (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture-rehabilitation thera-py can promote the neurological function recovery in rat with permanent focal cerebral ischemia, which may be associated with the continu-ous inducement of Flt-1, Flk-1 protein expression in ischemic penumbra cortex.
