Effect of hippocampal neurons apoptosis and regeneration on chronic stress depression model rat treated by Electroacupuncture

Objective: To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture on chronic stress depression,we observed the expression of Bcl-2 and GAP-43 in hippocampus of stress rats.Methods: Tirthty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group,model group,electroacupuncture group and Prozac group.Open-filed test was used to detect the behavior of rats.Immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expression Bcl-2 and GAP-43 in hippocampus.Results: After stress exposure,compared with control group,the crossing numbers of model group were significantly less than those of control group(P0.05),the electroacupuncture group and Prozac group were significantly increased(P0.05).The expression of Bcl-2 in hippocampus of model group showed no difference from control group.Hippocampal Bcl-2 expression in electroacupuncture group was higher than model group(P0.05).Compared with the control group,GAP-43 expression in hippocampus of model group was lower(P0.05).GAP-43 expression in hippocampus of electroacupuncture group,Pozac group were higher than model group,and the GAP-43expression in the electroacupuncture group were significant different from model group(P0.05).Conclusion: Chronic stress could cause the rats' activities decreased and exploratory behavior reduced,while electroacupuncture could improve the behavior of stress rats by decreasing the hippocampal apoptosis,which maybe one of the mechanisms of antidepressant effect of electroacupuncture.