Objective To study effect of electroacupunture on reactive astrogliosis of rats after spinal cord injury. Methods A total of 36 SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group, model group and electroacupuncture group, 12 rats in each group. The sham group only underwent laminectomy without spinal cord injury, and the impactor was used to establish spinal cord injury model in model group and electroacupuncture group. The electroacupuncture group was given electroacupuncture after operation, while the rest groups were given the same condition of grabing. The Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) scores of rats were recorded daily after operation and rats were sacrificed on the 14th day after administration. Nissl staining was used to observe the morphology of neurons. The expression of GFAP was detected by immunofluorescence. The expression of GFAP protein was detected by Western blot. Results The fifth days after the intervention, the BBB score of the electroacupuncture group was significantly higher than that of the model group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the expression of GFAP in electroacupuncture group significantly decreased (F=23.831, P<0.001), the expression of GFAP protein in electroacupuncture group significantly decreased (F=15.883, P<0.001), the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in electroacupuncture group significantly decreased (F=82.773, 113.487, P<0.001). Conclusions The electroacupuncture can inhibit the expression GFAP and astrogliosis to inhibit inflamation after spinal cord injury in rats, which is conducive to the repair of neurons and the recovery of limb motor function in rats.

Objective To study the effect of electroacupuncture on the expression of autophagy related gene Beclin-1 after spinal cord injury in rats. Methods A total of 36 SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham), model group (Model) and electroacupuncture group (EA), 12 rats in each group. The sham group underwent laminectomy, without spinal cord injury; Model group and EA group were treated with NYU spinal cord preparation model of spinal cord injury blow system. After the operation, the EA group was treated with electroacupuncture. The other groups were treated with the same conditions, and the BBB limb movement function was scored every day, and 3 days after the operation were sacrificed. The expression of Beclin-1 was detected by immunohistochemical method, and the expression of Beclin-1 protein was detected by Western blot, and the expression of Beclin-1 mRNA was detected by qPCR. Results On the 3 day after operation, the BBB scores (2.94 ± 0.22 vs. 2.03 ± 0.18) of EA group was significantly higher than those in Model group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the mean light density (0.64 ± 0.20 vs. 0.80 ± 0.17), the expression of Beclin-1 protein (0.59 ± 0.22 vs.0.71 ± 0.19) and the Beclin-1 mRNA (0.55 ± 0.12 vs. 0.77 ± 0.14) expression of Beclin1 positive expression in the electroacupuncture group significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression of autophagy related gene Beclin-1 increased in spinal cord after spinal cord injury. EA could down regulate the expression of Beclin-1 protein and mRNA and inhibit autophagy level, which may be one of the reasons for electroacupuncture to promote the recovery of limb motor function in rats with spinal cord injury.