Electroacupuncture attenuates the decrease of hippocampal progenitor cell proliferation in the adult rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress.
The present study was designed to investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA) was beneficial to extenuate the behavioral deficit in a rat model of depression induced by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) and to observe the effect of EA on progenitor cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus (DG) of hippocampus. EA was performed on acupoints "Bai-Hui" (Du 20) and unilateral "An-Mian" (EX 17) once daily for 3 consecutive weeks, 2 weeks post CUS procedure. Open field test and forced swimming test were employed to evaluate the behavioral activity during a stress period or EA treatment. The results revealed that exposure to CUS resulted in a decrease of behavioral activity, whilst a daily session of EA treatment significantly reversed the behavioral deficit of these depression model rats. Moreover, as shown by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling immunohistochemistry, hippocampal progenitor cell proliferation was decreased in the DG of depression model rats. Intriguingly, EA treatment effectively blocked this decrease. The study demonstrated a potential antidepressant-like effect of EA treatment on CUS induced depression model rats, which might be mediated by up-regulating the hippocampal progenitor cell proliferation.
Liu
Qiong
Q
Institute of Acupuncture Research WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Yu
Jin
J
Mi
Wen-Li
WL
Mao-Ying
Qi-Liang
QL
Yang
Ru
R
Wang
Yan-Qing
YQ
Wu
Gen-Cheng
GC
D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000963:Antimetabolites; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D010477:Perfusion; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000963:Antimetabolites; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine