[Possible mechanism of electroacupuncture preconditioning for hypoxia/ischemic brain injury protection effect in neonatal rats].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the possible mechanism of electroacupuncture preconditioning (EAPC) and combined with ATP-sensitive potassium channel (KATP) blocker preconditioning for hypoxia/ischemic brain injury protection by observing the changes of the immediate genes (c-fos and c-jun protein content) in brain at the early stage after cerebral hypoxia/ischemic injury, and the effect of EAPC on these changes.


METHODS
Integrated density (ID) of c-fos and c-jun expression was measured by Western blot and computerized image processing.


RESULTS
Hypoxia/ischemia could induce c-fos and c-jun protein in both cerebral cortex and hippocampus simultaneously, with the peak appearing 2-4 hrs later, and the expression in hyppocampus was higher than that in cortex. EAPC could lower KATP blocker induced permanent high expression in hyppocampus.


CONCLUSIONS
The effect of EAPC preconditioning in antagonizing cerebral hypoxia/ischemic injury may be related with its action in activating KATP, inhibiting the neuron apoptosis induced by the immediate genes at early stage of injury.
Jiang
Ke-wen
KW
Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Medical College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003. jiangkewen@21cn.com
Zhang
Ying
Y
Shui
Quan-xiang
QX
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D005260:Female; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019194:Ischemic Preconditioning / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun