Electroacupuncture for myocardial ischemia injury in rats via AMPK-HDAC5-HIF-1α signaling / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the impact of electroacupuncture (EA) on the AMPKα-HDAC5-HIF-1α signaling in the heart of the rats with myocardial ischemia (MI) via detecting the expressions of AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα), histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5), hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).@*METHODS@#Thirty-six healthy male SD rats were randomized into a sham operation group (6 rats), a sham + EA group (6 rats), a model group (12 rats) and an EA group (12 rats). We ligated the left anterior descending artery (LAD) for MI model, and exposed the heart of rats after opening the chest without ligation for the rats in the sham operation gorup and the sham + EA group. On the 2nd day after LAD ligation, EA was applied at "Neiguan" (PC 6) with 2 Hz/15 Hz and 1.5-2 mA for 30 min in the EA group and sham+EA group, once a day for 4 days. The same fixation was used in the sham operation group and the model group, without EA. Myocardial infarction area was observed by TTC staining and serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) was detected by radioimmunoassay. The expression of VEGF mRNA was detected by real time PCR. The protein expressions of AMPKα, HDAC5, HIF-1α and VEGF were detected by western blot.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the sham operation group, 4 days after LAD ligation, the myocardial infarction was obvious and the expression of serum cTnT increased in the model group (0.05). After EA for 4 days, the myocardial infarction area and cTnT expression decreased in the EA group (both <0.01); the VEGF mRNA and protein expressions and AMPKα, HDAC5, HIF-1α protein expressions increased (<0.05, <0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#EA could regulate the AMPKα-HDAC5-HIF-1α signaling in myocardial tissue, which may activate VEGF expression for angiogenesis signaling, reduce myocardial infarction area so as to achieve cardioprotective effect.

Effects of electroacupuncture on the expression of adenosine receptors in the heart tissue of myocardial ischemia rats / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the impact of electroacupuncture (EA) on the protein expression of adenosine receptors in the heart of the rats with myocardial ischemia (MI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty healthy male SD rats were divided randomly into a control group (=6), a model group (=12) and an EA group (=12). We ligated the left anterior descending artery (LAD) for MI model in the model group and EA group, and exposed the heart after opening the chest without ligation in the control group. EA, 2 Hz /15 Hz and 1.5-2 mA, was applied at bilateral"Neiguan"(PC 6) in the EA group for 20 min, once a day for continuous 5 days. No intervention except grabbing and fixation was used in the control group and model group. We applied 2% TTC staining to observe the infarct size of myocardium, colorimetry to analyze serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), radio-immunity assessment to detect cardiac troponin T (cTnT), Western blot to evaluate the adenosine A1 receptor (A1AR), A2aAR, A2bAR and A3AR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment, myocardial infarction of (27.56±3.24)% was obvious in the model group; the myocardial infarction in the EA group was (21.04±3.61)%, with statistical significance (<0.05). The expressions of serum LDH, CK, CK-MB and cTnT levels in the model group increased compared with those in the control group (all<0.01), and the expressions of LDH, CK, CK-MB and cTnT levels in the EA group decreased compared with those in the model group (<0.05，<0.01). The A1AR expression in the model group was not different from that in the control group (>0.05), and A2aAR、A2bAR、A3AR expressions decreased (<0.05,<0.01). A2aAR and A2bAR expressions in the EA group increased compared with those in the model group (both<0.01), and there was no statistical significance between A1AR and A3AR expressions (both>0.05). .</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EA may achieve cardioprotective effect by regulating the expressions of A2aAR and A2bAR in myocardial tissue, which induce the corresponding signal cascade for reducing myocardial infarction area.</p>

Top-cited academic articles in acupuncture and moxibustion research / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the 100 top-cited articles published in journals dedicated to acupuncture & moxibustion research and analyze their characteristics so as to explore its academic state.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>All the articles were collected from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, January 1, 1943 to December 25, 2016), Web of Science (January 1, 1950 to December 25, 2016), WANFANG Database (January 1, 1998 to December 25, 2016). The top-cited articles were selected and analyzed with regard to publication year, number of citations, journals, authors, country or region, institution, title, type and subject.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One hundred and two articles were included, 43 Chinese articles and 59 English articles, cited between 146 and 505 times, and the average number of citation was 222. Of the 10 articles cited in the top 10, China and the United States had 4 articles respectively. These articles appeared in 44 journals, 24 articles in Chinese&, followed by 8 articles in. All the articles belonged to 9 countries and regions, 47 articles from mainland China and 21 articles from the United State. Of the 14 institutes whose article number ranked at top 10, Tianjing University of TCM had 8 articles. The first authors published most papers were professorand Cherkin DC, each of whom had 4 articles. All the articles were categorized into basic science article (n=27), clinical research (n=33) and literature study (n=42). The main topics were pain diseases and brain impairment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This analysis of high cited articles reveals academic trends and directions of acupuncture and moxibustion.and moxibustion are more and more recognized by mainstream medicine in the world, but the academic dominance of China has been increasingly challenged by the United States, Germany and so on.</p>

Analysis on the academic cultivation of young TCM scholars based on Professor LIU Zhicheng's academic track / 中国针灸

In view of the public academic papers of Professor LIU Zhicheng, his academic track is analyzed, including validating effect, exploring mechanism, improving efficacy, expanding disease variety, deepening mechanism, optimizing program and seeking breakthrough. On this basis, combined with the self-character of TCM, the potential path for the academic cultivation of young scholars is refined: focusing on clinical practice, confirming clinical efficacy, deepening mechanism exploration, improving clinical therapeutic effect, optimizing clinical program, extending clinical disease spectrum, inheriting, seeking, breaking through, innovating, expecting and topping over. It is believed that during the academic cultivation, the importance is to form the stable research direction and continuity, organize research team, absorb actively new knowledge and thoughts, and adopt multidisciplinary cross and coordination so as to achieve the greater success ultimately.

Effect of herbal tongxinluo on thrombus formation and neointimal hyperplasia of the balloon injured rabbit peripheral arteries / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

AimThe effect of herbal tongxinluo on the thrombus formation and neointimal hyperplasia of the balloon injured rabbit abdominal aorta and iliac artery was observed. Methods36 New zealand rabbits were divided randomly into 3 groups: tongxinluo group(16 rabbits); aspirin group(11 rabbits) and control group(9 rabbits). The rabbits were treated with herb tongxinluo 0.38g·kg-1 · d-1, aspirin 50mg·kg-1 · d -1 and 0.09% natrium chloride 10 ml · d-1 alternatively. The arterial injury model was made 1 week after taking the medicine and the injured segments were taken at 24 hours,1 week or 1 month after the procedure, then the samples were stained by hematoxylin and eosin. The thrombus formation and the neointimal hyperplasia of the injured arteries were observed under microscope. Results The arterial neointimal hyperplasia was seen in both abdominal aorta and iliac artery 24 hours and 7 days after the balloon injury in each group,which led to stenosis in 5%～40% of the arterial lumen, the neointimal hyperplasia was much more significant in 2 rabbits 1 month after the balloon injury. The ratio of the arteries with thrombosis in aspirin group was less than that in the other 2 groups, but the difference was not significant. The ratio of neointimal hyperplasia in tongxinluo group was significantly less than that in aspirin and control groups. Conclusion The balloon injured rabbit abdominal aorta and iliac artery appeare to be an ideal model in researching restenosis after percutaneous transluminar coronary angioplasty(PTCA) . Herbal Tongxinluo significantly inhibit the neointimal hyperplasia of the balloon injured rabbit peripheral arteries, which indicate that herbal Tongxinluo might be a promising medicine in preventing restenosis.