Effect Of Electroacupuncture On Expression Of ENaC In Inner Ear Of Guinea Pigs With Membrane Lymphatic Model

Objective The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on guinea pigs with membranous hydatidiform effusion by ENaC expression,and to observe the effect of electroacupuncture on morphology of cochlea in guinea pigs with membranous labyrinth.Methods For the experiments described here,48 healthy male and female albino guinea pigs were used.According to the random number table,48 guinea pigs were divided into normal group,model group and electroacupuncture group,Each group include 8 male and 8 female,male and female sub-cage feeding.Except guinea pigs in the normal group,the EA group and the model group were given intraperitoneal injection of aldosterone in an amount of 100μg /0.1kg/d for 5 consecutive days,And the Normal group were given intraperitoneal injection of saline in an amount of 0.1ml /0.1kg/d for 5consecutive days,On the 6th day,each group began routine feeding,after 60 days,the model was finished and the intervention was started.The EA group were administered puncturing at GV 20 and unilateral SI 19.EA with Han’s acupoint nerve stimulator was delivered to these two acupoints separately 20 minutes once daily for consecutive 10 days.Normal and model groups use the same fixation method as the EA group once a day whitout any treatment for 10 consecutive days.Indicators of observation after the intervention are:(1)ABR testing;(2)HE staining cochlear endolymphatic hydrops in guinea pig cochlea degree;(3)Immunohistochemical staining and Western-Blot technique to detect the expression level of ENaC α subunit in guinea pig cochlea.Results(1)No membrane lacunar hydronephrosis occurred in the normal group,and there were different degrees of membrane labyrinthal fluid in both the model group and the electroacupuncture group,which was statistically significant compared with the normal group(P <0.05).After the electroacupuncture,the degree of labyrinth hydronephrosis decreased,which was statistically significant compared with the model group(P <0.05).(2)Average ABR thresholds of guinea pigs in each group showed no significant differences(P>0.05).(3)Compared with the normal group,the expression of ENaCα Subunit in the cochlea of model group was increased,the difference was statistically significant(P <0.05),Compared with the model group,the expression of ENaCα Subunit in guinea pigs in electroacupuncture group decreased,the difference was statistically significant(P <0.05).Conclusions(1)2/15 Hz EA can effectively reduce the degree of hydration of guinea pigs in Meniere ’s disease;(2)Electro-acupuncture points "baihui" and "tiaogong" can effectively reduce the degree of stagnant water in guinea pigs with membrane-type labyrinthine guinea pigs;(3)2/15 Hz Electroacupuncture can reduce the expression of ENaCα subunit of the labyrinthine guinea pig cochlea.Its mechanism of treating Meniere’s disease may be related to the down-regulation of ENaCα subunit expression.