title: Effects of acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20) and Zusanli (ST 36) on peripheral serum expression of MicroRNA 124, laminin and integrin β1 in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the effects of acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20) and Zusanli (ST 36) on the peripheral serum expression of microRNA 124 (miRNA 124), laminin and integrin β1 in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (CIRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-two healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into a model group, an acupuncture group, and a sham-operated group using a random digits table, with 24 rats per group. Each group was further randomly divided into 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-day subgroups based on the reperfusion time according to a random digits table, with 6 rats in each subgroup. In the model and acupuncture groups, CIRI was induced using the thread occlusion method. Electroacupuncture stimulation was applied daily to GV 20 and left ST 36 for 20 min at the indicated time points after successful operations. Serum was sampled for detecting laminin and integrin β1 protein via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serum miRNA 124 was examined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum level of miRNA 124 in the cerebral ischemia rats increased significantly, and the peak expression of miRNA 124 in both the model and acupuncture groups occurred at 3 days. The expression of miRNA 124 in the acupuncture group was higher than in the model group at the same time point (5.96±0.01 vs. 3.11±0.04, P <0.05). Laminin expression in serum from the cerebral ischemia group was higher than that in the sham-operated group. Compared with the model group, the level of laminin in the serum of the acupuncture group was significantly lower at each time point, especially at the 3-day, and 7-day time points (589.12±3.57 vs. 793.05±5.28, and 600.53±3.05 vs. 899.06±5.74, P <0.05). The level of integrin β1 in the serum from the acupuncture group was lower than that in the model group particularly at the 3-day and 7-day time points (208.66±0.95 vs. 280.83±1.77, and 212.36±0.95 vs. 316.77±2.42, P <0.05). Additionally, the model group and the acupuncture group showed dual peaks of integrin β1 and laminin expression at 3-day and 7-day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acupuncture at GV 20 and ST 36 in rats alleviated CIRI and was associated with upregulated expression of miRNA 124 and with downregulated expression of integrin β1 and laminin in peripheral serum. These changes may represent one of the mechanisms underlying acupuncture's attenuation of CIRI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
authors.forename: Su-Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China. sunhuahe@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China.
authors.forename: Fu-Ming
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D019012:Integrin beta1 / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D007797:Laminin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D019012:Integrin beta1; D007797:Laminin; C548144:MIRN124 microRNA, rat; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: acupuncture; cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury; integrin β1; laminin; microRNA 124