The Effect Of Acupuncture On TGF-β₁ And GFAP Expression In Ischemic Penumbra Of Cerebral Infarction Rat

PurposeThis study was to observe the effects of acupuncture on TGF- β₁ and GFAP expression in cerebral ischemia rats, and to provide the experimental evidence for clinical treatment of acupuncture after ischemic cerebral damages.MethodsMCAO model was maded by intralumianal thread approach with Sprague-Daley(SD) male rats, and randomly divided into the acupuncture -treated group and untreated groups. Nissl staining was used to observe cerebral pathologic changes following ischemia and acupuncture.Immunohistochemical method was used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on TGF- β₁ and GFAP expression in ischemic penumbra at various time points after cerebral ischemia.Results(1) After middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO), Nissl staining indicated the pathologic alterations occurred to a lesser degree in acupuncture -treated groups compared with untreated groups.(2) The number of TGF- β₁ positive cells in ischemic frontal cortex and hippocampus(CA₁)increased and reached the peak 7 days after ischemia, The number of TGF- β₁ positive cells of acupuncture treated groups was raised (P< 0.05), compared with that of untreated groups.(3) The number of GFAP positive cells in ischemic rontal cortex and hippocampus(CA₁)increased and reached the peak 3 days and 7 days after ischemia, The number of GFAP positive cells in ischemic rontal cortex of 3 days acupuncture -treated groups was raised (P<0.05), while in ischemic rontal cortex of 7 days acupuncture -treated groups was reduced (P<0.05), compared with that of untreated groups. The number of GFAP positive cells in ischemic rontal cortex of 14 days acupuncture -treated groups and untreated was not expressed. The number of GFAP positive cells in hippocampus(CA₁) of l,3,7days acupuncture -treated groups was raised ( P < 0.05 ) ,while in hippocampus(CA₁) of 14days acupuncture -treated groups was reduced (P< 0.05) .ConclusionThe expression of TGF- β₁ and GFAP increased in the early period, while decreased in late period after cerebral ischemia. Acupuncture could upregulated TGF- β₁ expression and upregulated GFAP expression in early period while down regulated in late period. which might be one of the mechanisms of acupuncture against ischemic cerebral damage.