title: Effects of shenque moxibustion on behavioral changes and brain oxidative state in apolipoprotein e-deficient mice.
abstract: Purpose. To determine whether moxibustion influences the learning and memory behavior of ApoE-/- male mice, and investigate the mechanism of moxibustion on the alteration of oxidized proteins (glial fibrillary acidic protein, β-amyloid) in hippocampus. Methods. Thirty-three ApoE-/- mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 11/group): moxibustion, sham moxibustion, and no treatment control. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice (n = 13) were used for normal control. Moxibustion was performed with Shenque (RN8) moxibustion for 20 minutes per day, 6 days/week for 12 weeks. In sham control, the procedure was similar except burning of the moxa stick. Behavioral tests (step-down test and Morris water maze task) were conducted in the 13th week. The mice were then sacrificed and the tissues were harvested for immune-histochemical staining. Results. In the step-down test, the moxibustion group had shorter reaction time in training record and committed less mistakes compared to sham control. In immune-histochemical study, the moxibustion group expressed lower level of GFAP and less aggregation of β-amyloid in the hippocampus than the sham control. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that moxibustion may enhance learning capability of ApoE-/- mice. The mechanism may be via inhibiting oxidized proteins (GFAP and β-amyloid) in astrocytes.
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Juntian
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Baixiao
authors: 0000-0003-3644-6883
authors: B
authors: Zhao
authors: Beijing Hospital of TCM, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Yingxue
authors: Y
authors: Cui
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Yuhai
authors: Y
authors: Huang
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Chang
authors: C
authors: Huang
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Huang
authors: School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Han
authors: School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors: Lixing
authors: L
authors: Lao