Effects of acupuncture on the intrastriatal hemorrhage-induced caspase3 expression and newly cell birth in rats.
BACKGROUND
Intracerebral hemorrhage is one of the most devastating types of stroke. Caspases are essential players in apoptotic cell death both as initiators and executioners. The v-Fos FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Fos, c-Fos) is an immediate early gene, and Fos expression is sometimes used as a marker for stimuli-induced changes in the metabolic activity of neurons. The expressions of caspase3 and Fos are enhanced with neuroregeneration and with neuronal cell death, respectively. Cells proliferation the dentate gyrus of adult rodents is enhanced by certain pathologic events as seizures and ischemic insult, and such up-regulation of cell proliferation occurring during pathologic situations is thought to be a compensatory response to lesion-induced cell death in the brain. In the present study, we investigated the effects of acupuncture on the intrastriatal hemorrhage-induced caspase3 expression in the striatum and on the Fos expression and cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of rats.


METHODS
For this study, immunohistochemistry for caspase3, Fos and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was performed.


RESULTS
Caspase3 expression in the striatum was increased by intrastriatal hemorrhage. Fos expression and cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of rats with intracerebral hemorrhage were also increased. Acupunctural treatment, especially at the ST36 acupoint, suppressed the intracerebral hemorrhage-induced caspase3 expression in the stratum, and it also inhibited expression of Fos and cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus.


CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, we have shown that acupuncture treatment has a neuroprotective effect on intrastrstriatal hemorrhage-induced neuronal cell death, and this suggests that acupuncture can aid in the recovery of the central nervous system following stroke.
Yang
Yong-Jun
YJ
Department of Anatomy-Meridian, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyungwon University, Seongnam 461-701, Korea.
Kim
Youn-Sub
YS
Shin
Mal-Soon
MS
Chang
Hyun-Kyung
HK
Lee
Taeck-Hyun
TH
Sim
Young-Je
YJ
Shin
Min-Chul
MC
Park
Ho-Yoon
HY
Kim
Sangho
S
Park
Hun-Kuk
HK
Kim
Chang-Ju
CJ
D026881:Acupuncture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000378:metabolism; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D053148:Caspase 3; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine