Effects of Electro-Acupuncture on Bcl-2 and Bax of Rats with Focal Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion

Objective: To explore the effects of electro-acupuncture on the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in ischemic brain tissues of rat focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion model.Methods:The arterial line bolt method improved by Longa was used to make MCAO rat model.The 140 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group,sham-operation group,MCAO model control group and electro-acupuncture group.Each of the last two groups was divided into six subgroups(3 h,6 h,12 h,24 h,48 h and 96 h after ischemia-reperfusion).The immunohistochemical SP method was used to observe the Bcl-2 and Bax expression levels in rat ischemic brain tissues under the light microscopy.Results:(1) In the normal control group and sham-operation group,there was weak expression of Bcl-2 in brain tissues.The Bcl-2 expression in the MCAO model group and electro-acupuncture group was increased significantly as compared with the normal control group and sham-operation group(P0.05),which reached a peak at 24 h.In electro-acupuncture 6 h,12 h,24 h,48 h,96 h sub groups,the positive expression rate of Bcl-2 was higher than in the MCAO model group(P0.05);(2) In the normal control group and sham-operation group,there was weak expression of Bax in brain tissues.The positive expression rate of Bax in electro-acupuncture group was significantly higher than in the MCAO model group(P0.05),which reached a peak at 24 h.In the electro-acupuncture 6 h,12 h,24 h,48 h,96 h subgroups,the Bax positive expression rate was higher than in the MCAO model group(P0.05).Conclusion The Electro-acupuncture therapy had a protective effect against the focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats probably by increasing Bcl-2 and reducing Bax levels.