title: Regulation of Neurotrophin-3 and Interleukin-1β and Inhibition of Spinal Glial Activation Contribute to the Analgesic Effect of Electroacupuncture in Chronic Neuropathic Pain States of Rats.
abstract: Growing evidence indicates that neurotrophin-3, interleukin-1β, and spinal glia are involved in neuropathic pain derived from dorsal root ganglia to spinal cord. Electroacupuncture is widely accepted to treat chronic pain, but the precise mechanism underlying the analgesic effect of EA has not been fully demonstrated. In this study, the mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency were recorded. We used immunofluorescence and western blots methods to investigate the effect of EA on the expression of NT-3 and IL-1β in DRG and spinal cord of CCI rats; we also examined the expression of spinal GFAP and OX-42 in spinal cord. In present study, the MWT and TWL of CCI group rats were lower than those in the Sham CCI group rats, but EA treatment increased the pain thresholds. Furtherly, we found that EA upregulates the expression of NT-3 in DRG and spinal cord of CCI rats, while EA downregulates the expression of IL-1β. Additionally, immunofluorescence exhibited that CCI-induced activation of microglia and astrocytes was inhibited significantly by EA treatment. These results demonstrated that the analgesic effect of EA may be achieved through promoting the neural protection of NT-3 as well as the inhibition of IL-1β production and spinal glial activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Second Affiliated Hospital & Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
authors.forename: Wenzhan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China.
authors.forename: Wansheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Second Affiliated Hospital & Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Second Affiliated Hospital & Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Second Affiliated Hospital & Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
authors.forename: Songhe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang