Electroacupuncture inhibited inflammation mediated by activated microglia in rats with spinal cord injury

Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture on inflammation mediated by activated microglia after spinal cord injury to explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture inhibiting inflammation and treating spinal cord injury. Methods Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group and electroacupuncture group. The sham group was undergone laminectomy while model group and electroacupuncture group with NYU spinal cord impactor for the spinal cord injury model was established. Three days after administration, tissues were gathered for Nissl staining, Elisa, immunofluorescence and qPCR. Results Compared with the model group, the expression of IL-1β (21.37 ± 0.86 vs. 31.21 ± 0.86), IL-18 (16.76 ± 0.63 vs. 23.39 ± 0.97), IL-1β mRNA (3.37 ± 0.86 vs. 5.21 ± 0.75) and IL-18 mRNA (2.76 ± 0.63 vs. 4.39 ± 0.97) in the electroacupuncture group significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the number of IBA-1/ED-1 double positive cells (7.50 ± 1.18 vs. 12.83 ± 1.84) in the electroacupuncture group significantly reduced (P<0.05). Conclusions Electroacupuncture can promote neurons to rehabilitate with a mechanism that electroacupuncture inhibits inflammation mediated by activated microglia after spinal cord injury. Key words: Spinal cord injuries; Electroacupuncture; Microglia; Inflammation; Rats