[Study on effects of acupuncture at the heart meridian on gene expression pattern of heart in rats with acute myocardial ischemia].
OBJECTIVE
To reveal the mechanism of acupuncture at the Heart meridian in treatment of myocardial ischemia from gene level.


METHODS
A model of acute myocardial ischemia was made by ligation of left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery. Changes of gene expression pattern of the Lung meridian group, the Heart meridian group and the model group in the heart were compared.


RESULTS
Differential expression genes and expression sequence tags (ESTs) were 14 with signal log ratio > or = 1 and 20 with signal log ratio < or = -1, mainly included immunological and inflammatory reaction relative genes, cell signal transduction and transferrin relative genes, and others, in the Lung meridian group vs the model group. Differential expression genes and ESTs were 20 with signal log ratio > or = 1 and 70 with signal log ratio < or = -1, mainly included ion channel and transport protein relative genes, cell apoptosis and stress reaction protein relative genes, metabolism relative genes, cell signal transduction and transferrin relative genes, DNA's binding, transcription and transcriptional factor relative genes, immunological and inflammatory reaction relative genes, and others, in the Heart meridian group vs the model group.


CONCLUSIONS
In number and types of differential expression genes and ESTs with signal log ratio > or = 1 or < or = -1, the changes in the Heart meridian group vs the model group were obviously different from those in the Lung meridian group vs the model group, indicating that the Heart meridian has relative specificity in protecting against acute myocardial ischemia.
Zhou
Mei-qi
MQ
Research Center for Correlation between Channels and Viscera, Anhui College of TCM, Hefei 230038, China. meiqizhou@163.com
Zhou
Yi-ping
YP
Wang
Ke-ming
KM
Hu
Ling
L
Wang
Yue-lan
YL
Chen
Ye-nong
YN
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D006321:Heart; D016740:Meridians; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000628:therapy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley