| Purpose: To explore the mechanism of electro-acupuncture at “Neiguan”,“Guanyuan”and“Zusanli” acupoints in preventing and treating atherosclerosis by analyzing the changes of plasma metabolomics of abdominal aorta in rabbits,so as to provide experimental basis for clinical treatment.Materials and Methods: Twenty-six male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into blank control group(7 rabbits),building model group(13 rabbits)and electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group(6 rabbits).The electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group was given electroacupuncture to stimulate the “Guanyuan”acupoint,bilateral “Neiguan” acupoints,bilateral “Zusanli” acupoints,20 min/time,weekly acupuncture for 6 days,rest for 1 day for a total of 3 weeks.The blank control and the building model group continued to be fed adaptively.After 3 weeks,the blank control group was fed with routine diet without any other interventions;the electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group and the building model group were fed with high-fat diet,after 4 weeks,the balloon injury of common carotid artery was performed,and the high-fat diet was still fed after operation.At the end of 4 weeks,a rabbit was randomly selected from the blank control group and the building model group respectively for pathological section.After HE staining,the pathological changes of rabbit common carotid artery atherosclerotic plaque were observed to identify whether the modeling was successful.After confirming the successful modeling,the remaining 12 rabbits in the building model group were randomly divided into the model control group and the medicine control group,with 6 rabbits in each group,and continued to be fed with high fat diet with the prevention and therapy group.The model control group received no intervention,while the medicine control group received atorvastatin calcium tablet suspension(1mg/kg/d)for 4 weeks.The electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group continued electro-acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks.In the above process,the other control groups tied the experimental rabbits in the same way as the prevention and therapy group.After treatment,all rabbits were sacrificed after blood collection from the abdominal aorta.Common carotid artery tissues were taken and the pathological changes of atherosclerotic plaques were observed after HE staining.The blood lipid levels of rabbits in each group were detected.UPLC-Q/TOF-MS technique was used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the metabolites in plasma to screen effective metabolic biomarkers,and the changes before and after treatment were observed.Result:1.HE stainingCompared with the blank control group,the intima of the model control group was damaged,and fibrotic tissue and obvious atheromatous plaques were observed.Inflammatory cells infiltrated and a large number of foam cells formed,indicating that the model was successful;compared with the model control group,the atheromatous plaque area of the medicine control group and the electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group decreased significantly,and the amount of foam cells was reduced.2.Blood lipid levelCompared with the blank control group,the levels of TC,TG and LDL in the model control group increased and HDL decreased significantly(p < 0.01);compared with the model control group,the levels of TC,TG and LDL in the medicine control group and electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group decreased,while the levels of HDL increased(p < 0.01).3.Metabolomics detectionCompared with the blank control group,the contents of 6-Keto-PGF1α,15(S)-HETE,11R-HETE,13(S)-HODE,Fexofenadin,glycodeoxycholic acid,Threonine,N-Acetylneuraminic Acid and Ubiquinone in the model control group decreased,while the contents of 2-glycery1-PGF2α,Glycerophosphoethanolamine and Hypoxanthine increased.Except 15(S)-HETE and 11R-HETE,the contents of metabolites changed significantly(P <0.05),among which Hypoxanthine and Ubiquinone changed very significantly(P < 0.01).Compared with the model control group,the contents of 2-glycery1-PGF2α,Glycerophosphoethanolamine and Hypoxanthine in the medicine control group and electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group decreased significantly(P<0.05),while thecontents of 6-Keto-PGF1α,15(S)-HETE,11R-HETE,13(S)-HODE,Fexofenadine,glycodeoxycholic acid,Threonine,N-Acetylneuraminic Acid and Uquinone were all increased significantly(P<0.05).Except for Fexofenadine and N-Acetylneuraminic Acid,the contents of other metabolites in the medicine control group and the electro-acupuncture prevention and therapy group were significantly different(P<0.01).Through KEGG database analysis,eight metabolic pathways related to atherosclerosis were screened out,which were involved in lipid metabolism,bile acid metabolism,amino acid metabolism,nucleotide metabolism and energy metabolism.Conclusion1.Electro-acupuncture "Neiguan" acupoints,"Guanyuan" acupoints,"Zusanli" acupoints can effectively protect the intima of arteries and reduce the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.2.Electro-acupuncture "Neiguan" acupoints,"Guanyuan" acupoints,"Zusanli" acupoints can effectively improve the level of blood lipid in atherosclerotic rabbits.3.Electro-acupuncture "Neiguan" acupoints,"Guanyuan" acupoints,"Zusanli" acupoints can effectively regulate lipid metabolism,bile acid metabolism,amino acid metabolism,nucleotide metabolism and energy metabolism,thus preventing and treating atherosclerosis. |
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