title: Electroacupuncture at Quchi and Zusanli treats cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury through activation of ERK signaling.
abstract: The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, a critical mediator of cell proliferation, is activated in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and is therefore a key target in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Acupuncture has long been used in China to clinically treat stroke. However, the precise mechanism of its neuroprotective activities remains largely unknown. In the present study, a focal cerebral I/R-injured rat model was used to evaluate thein vivotherapeutic efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. EA significantly ameliorated neurological deficits and cerebral infarction in cerebral I/R-injured rats. Moreover, EA significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of ERK, as well as the protein expression levels of Ras, cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4. Consequently, EA-mediated activation of the ERK pathway resulted in the stimulation of cerebral cell proliferation. The present data suggest that EA at the Quchi and Zusanli acupoints exerts a neuroprotective effect in ischemic stroke via the activation of ERK signaling.
authors.affiliation: College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guanli
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Shanli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Azhen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Zhicheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yanlin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jiumao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Lidian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Quchi (LI11) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints; cell proliferation; cerebral ischemia/reperfusion; electroacupuncture; extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway