Effect of electroacupuncture at “Neiguan” and “Zusanli” on nerve-injury repair and the expressions of serum Orexin-A and inflammatory factors in rats with cerebral infarction

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) at “Neiguan” and “Zusanli” on nerve-injury repeir and the expressions of Orexin-A and serum inflammatory factors in rats with cerebral infarction.Methods: Fifty-four adult male SPF rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group and EA group.Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established in the EA group and model group.Twenty-four hours later, EA was applied to the rats in EA group at bilateral “Neiguan” and “Zusanli” for 14 days.The sham operation group was only treated with neck skin incision and suture.After sampling, TTC, HE and Nissl staining were performed.Western blotting and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RTqPCR)were used to detect Orexin-A.ELISA was used to detect serum Orexin-A and serum inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β). Results: Compared with the sham operation group, the neurological deficit score and cerebral infarction volume increased, and the body weight decreased in the model group (P＜0.05); the number of neurons, serum Orexin-A expression and the expressions of Orexin-A protein and mRNA in brain tissue significantly decreased, and the serum inflammatory factors significantly increased in the model group(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group, the neurological deficit score and cerebral infarction volume decreased, and the body weight increased in the EA group (P＜0.05); the number of neurons, serum Orexin-A level and the expression of Orexin protein and mRNA expression in brain tissue significantly increased, and the serum inflammatory factors significantly decreased in the EA group(P＜0.01).In the model group, the number of intact nerve cells in brain tissue was reduced, and the cell nuclei were separated, while the morphology of nerve cells in the EA group was relatively complete and tended to be normal.Conclusion: EA therapy can improve the neurological deficit of rats with cerebral infarction, reduce the cerebral infarction volume and improve the body weight.Its mechanism may be related to the regulation of Orexin-A level, inhibition of serum inflammatory factors and promotion of nerve repair.