Effect of willed movement therapy on the expression of Nogo-A and Rho-associated kinase in rats of cerebral ischemia

Objective To determine the effect of willed movement on the expression of Nogo-A and Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) in adult rats with cerebral ischemia. Methods Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 h, followed by a 24 h reperfusion in 54 adult rats and the degree of their neurological deficit was evaluated using Longa scale. They were then divided randomly into 3 groups, namely the MCAO group, the environmental modification (EM) group, and the willed movement (WM) group. The rats of MCAO group were raised in a regular breeding box, where they could get food and water freely. Meanwhile, those of the other two groups were raised in a homemade box. For the WM group, the water bottle and food were located on the roof of the homemade box. In each group, six rats were killed on day 3, 7 and 15 after reperfusion and their neurological deficits were evaluated respectively. Immunohistochemistry assay was employed to examine the expression of Nogo-A and ROCK in the brain tissue around the ischemic foci. Results The rats of the WM group showed lessened neurological deficits on day 15 compared with the model and EM group. Their expression of Nogo-A decreases from(28.92±2.17)/hpf on day 7 to (24.38±2.29)/hpf on day 15 and that of ROCK did from (40.03±2.14)/hpf to (38.08±2.07)/ hpf, lower than those of the model and EM group. However, no significant differences were found in the expression of Nogo-A and ROCK between the model group and EM group at any time points. Conclusion Willed movement could promote the functional recovery of neurological deficits in rats with ischemia after reperfusion, which is probably in relation to restrained expression of Nogo-A and Rho-associated in the tissue around the brain ischemic foci. Key words: Willed movement; Cerebral ischemia; Nogo-A; Rho-associated kinase