Electroacupuncture reduces apoptotic index and inhibits p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway in the hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Electroacupuncture attenuates cerebral hypoxia and neuronal apoptosis induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.To further identify the involved mechanisms,we assumed that electroacupuncture used to treat cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was associated with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway.We established rat models of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury using the modified Zea-Longa＇s method.At 30 minutes before model establishment,p38 MAPK blocker SB20358 was injected into the left lateral ventricles.At 1.5 hours after model establishment,electroacupuncture was administered at acupoints of Chize（LU5）,Hegu（LI4）,Zusanli（ST36）,and Sanyinjiao（SP6） for 20 minutes in the affected side.Results showed that the combination of EA and SB20358 injection significantly decreased neurologic impairment scores,but no significant differences were determined among different interventional groups.Hematoxylin-eosin staining also showed reduced brain tissue injuries.Compared with the SB20358 group,the cells were regularly arranged,the structures were complete,and the number of viable neurons was higher in the SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group.Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase（Td T）-mediated d UTP nick-end labeling assay showed a decreased apoptotic index in each group,with a significant decrease in the SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group.Immunohistochemistry revealed reduced phosphorylated p38 expression at 3 days in the electroacupuncture group and SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group compared with the ischemia/reperfusion group.There was no significant difference in phosphorylated p38 expression between the ischemia/reperfusion group and SB20358 group.These findings confirmed that the electroacupuncture effects on mitigating cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury are possibly associated with the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.A time period of 3 days could promote the repair of ischemic cerebral nerves.

Protective Effects of Sapindus Saponins in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Objectives： To investigate the protective effects of Sapindus saponins in spontaneously hypertensive rats, and the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms. Methods： Thirty-two 16-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into four groups （8 in each group）： model group （placebo）, positive control group （27 mg/kg of Captopril Tablets）, Sapindus saponins groups （27 mg/kg and 108 mg/kg, respectively）. Another 8 healthy Wistar-Kyoto strain （WKY） rats were used as the normal group. The animals were treated for 8 weeks. Blood pressure of rats was determined by non-invasive blood pressure meter （BP-6）. Furthermore, the contents of angiotensin Ⅱ （Ang Ⅱ） in plasma and myocardial tissue were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）, the gene expression of receptor angiotensin type 1 （AT1R） in aorta was determined by quantitative real- time polymerase chain reaction （qRT-PCR）. The protein expression of transforming growth factor- β1 （TGF- 1β1） and AT1R in heart was determined by immunohistochemical staining. The protein expression of p-phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p-p38MAPK） was determined by Western blotting. The contents of interleukin （IL）-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor （TNF） in serum were determined by radioimmunoassay. And the histopathological and morphological changes of aorta and heart tissue samples were assessed semi-quantitatively by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） or Masson staining. Results： Thirty minutes after single or continuous treatment, systolic blood pressure （SBP） was reduced significantly in Sapindus saponins groups. And the contents of Ang 11, IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum, the expression of AT1R mRNA, p-p38MAPK and TGF- β1 were significantly suppressed dose-dependently （P〈0.05 or 1=〈0.01）. With the Sapindus saponins treatment, compared with those of the model group, the cardiac and aortic pathological changes were ameliorated significantly. Conclusions： Our findings suggest that Sapindus saponins might have protective effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of which might be relevant to the regulation of inflammatory responses mediated by p-p38MAPK signal pathway based on activated Ang Ⅱ and AT1R.