The Effect of Electroacupuncture on Apoptosis of Hippocampal Neurocyte in Heroin-addict Rats

Objective:To observe the curative effect of electroacupuncture(EA) on apoptosis of hippocampal neurocyte,study its acupuncture treatment mechanism and provide some theoretical proofs for EA abstaining from narcotic.Methods: Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into the control group and the experimenting group.Heroin was injected subcutaneously twice a day for 9 days,with the dose increasing daily,in rats of the experimenting group.On the tenth day,the withdrawal signs precipitated by intraperitoned injection of naloxone was performed to establish the heroin-dependent model.The qualified rats were divided into the non-electroacupunctured group and the electroacupunctured group through the step-down test.Heroin was injected continuously according to the maintenance dose of non-electroacupunctured group,while the electroacupunctured group was no longer given heroin.Meanwhile,Baihuiand and Dazhui points were chosen for electroacupunture treatment,once a day,for 7 days.Apoptosis of neurocytes in rats' hippocampus was measured with the method of TUNEL;Expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in neurocytes was measured with Envision immunohistochemical technique and results were analyzed by Imaging Analyzing System.Results: Compared with the control group,apoptosis index(AI) of neurocytes in hippocampus in non-electroacupunctured group was significantly higher,the expression of Bcl-2 decreased significantly,while the expression of Bax increased significantly.Compared with non-electroacupunctured group,apoptosis index(AI) of neurocytes in electroacupunctured group obviously decreased,the expression of Bcl-2 increased significantly,while the expression of Bax decreased significantly.Conclusion: Heroin can induce the apoptosis of hippocampus in rats by up-regulating the protein expression of Bax and down-regulating the protein expression of Bcl-2;Electroacupuncture can inhibit the apoptosis of hippocampus induced by heroin by up-regulating the protein expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulating the protein expression of Bax.Also,electroacupuncture can obviously improve the ability of learning and memory.