The effect of Electroacupuncture regulating the NF-κBalternative pathway in the hippocampus of the model rats after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion

Objective:To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on the IKKα expression in the hippocampus at the different time points after ischemia/reperfusion.Methods:One hundred and eighthealthymale SD rats were r andomly divided into shamgroup,I/R group and EAgroup.The I/R group and EAgroup were further divided respectively into 2 subgroups according to the different duration of reperfusion as24h and 7d.The focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion.The G6805-1 electroacupuncture treatment equipment was used and picked theHegu andTaichongacupoints in this research.The degeneration of neuron cells was tested by FJB stain.The IKKα protein expression and the NF-κB p52 expression in the nucleus were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotanalysis in the hippocampus at different time points.ResultsCompared with the shamgroup,the degeneration of neuron cells in the hippocampus in I/R group was significantly increased(P0.05),butafter the EAtreatment,the neuron cells damage in hippocampus was significantly decreased than thatin I/R group(P0.05).The expression of IKKα protein in I/R group was remarkably increased at 24h and 7d after reperfusion(P0.05).Meanwhile,the NF-κB p52 protein expression in the nucleus wasalso significantly increased(P0.05).With EAtreatment,the expression of IKKα and the expression ofNF-κB p52 protein expression in the nucleus were significantly decreased(p0.05).ConclusionThe IKKα protein expression was increased by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion stimulation,then activated the NF-κB p52 translocation to activate the signaling pathway and caused the neuron cells damage in the hippocampus after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.The EA treatment significantly inhibited the IKKα expression,then stopped the activation of p52 to effectively alleviate the injury in the hippocampus after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.