Effect of electroacupuncture of different acupoints on GAP-43 expression after focal cerebral infarction in rats

Objective:To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) of Renzhong+Baihui(RB),Ganshu+Shenshu(GS)resisting Acute cerebral ischemia(CI).Methods:80 healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group(n=5),model group(n=25),RB group(n=25),GS group(n=25).MCAO was made by nylon monofilament suture,The rats in the EA group received EA treatment at the acupoints RB and GS after MCAO.The rats were randomly divided into different time points(24 h,3,7,14,21 d after reperfusion).The neural functional recovery was evaluated by Longa's score.Imunohistochemistry and RT-PCR were used to detect the expression of GAP-43 in the ischemic cortex.Results:Sham-operated group had no neurological dysfunction,the Longa scores were better in both of the electroacupuncture(EA) groups than in model group.No positive GAP-43 cells were detected in sham-operated group.After 2 hour ischemia and 24 h reperfusion,positive GAP-43 cells were detected in the model group,and their expression showed increased first and then decreased.GAP-43 positive cells and mRNA expression in model group reached the peak on seventh day after MCAO,dropping to incipient level after 14 d.While the expression of GAP-43 in the two EA groups retained higher than model group(P0.01).No significant differences were found between two EA groups(P0.05).Inclusions:The electroacupuncture of Renzhong+Baihui andGanshu+ Shenshu may play an important role in the process of axonal regeneration after cerebral infarction,and the effect of acupuncture were similar in both groups.