Exploring the Central Mechanism of Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy in Treating Rats with Diet-Induced Obesity Based on Hypothalamic LepR-Mediated JAK2/STAT3 Pathway / 广州中医药大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effects of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on body mass,lipid metabolism,serum leptin and mRNA and protein expressions of hypothalamic leptin receptor(LepR)-mediated Janus kinase 2(JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)pathway in rats with diet-induced obesity(DIO).Methods Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into 10 in normal group and 30 in modeling group.A high-fat diet was used to establish the DIO rat model.After successful modeling,the modeled rats were randomly divided into the model group,the acupoint catgut embedding group and the acupoint catgut embedding + AG490(JAK2/STAT3 pathway blocker)group,with 10 rats in each group.The acupoint catgut embedding group and the acupoint catgut embedding + AG490 group were embedded on day(s)1,8,15 and 22 after successful modeling,the acupoints were selected from the Zhongwan(RN12),Shuidao(ST28),Tianshu(ST25),Pishu(BL20),Weishu(BL21),Sanjiaoshu(BL22)with a total of 4 treatments,and the acupoint catgut embedding + AG490 group was injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg/kg of AG490 every day during the treatment period;the normal group and the model group were only grasped and fixed.Body mass was measured before and after treatment.Lipid metabolism indexes of triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),and serum leptin levels were measured after treatment,and the mRNA expressions of hypothalamus LepR,JAK2 and STAT3 were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR),and the protein expressions of hypothalamus LepR,JAK2 and STAT3 were detected by Western Blot.Results Before treatment,compared with the normal group,the body mass of the model group,the acupoint catgut embedding group,and the acupoint catgut embedding+AG490 group were all elevated(P＜0.01),and compared with the model group,there was no significant difference in the body mass between the acupoint catgut embedding group and the acupoint catgut embedding+AG490 group(P＞0.05).After treatment,compared with the normal group,body mass,leptin and TG,TC,LDL-C levels were increased,and mRNA and protein expression levels of LepR,JAK2,STAT3 were decreased in the model group(all P＜0.01);compared with the model group,body mass,leptin and TG,TC,LDL-C levels were decreased in the acupoint catgut embedding group,and mRNA and protein levels of LepR,JAK2,STAT3 were increased in the acupoint catgut embedding + AG490 group(all P＜0.01);compared with the acupoint catgut embedding + AG490 group,the body mass,leptin and TG,TC,LDL-C levels were decreased,and mRNA and protein levels of LepR,JAK2,STAT3 were increased in the acupoint catgut embedding group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Conclusion Acupoint catgut embedding has a good effect on weight loss and lipid reduction in DIO rats,and its central mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of serum leptin level and activation of hypothalamic LepR-mediated JAK2/STAT3 pathway.