Effect of electroacupuncture on HO-1/PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway during acute kidney injury in endotoxemic rats / 中华麻醉学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture on the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)/PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin signaling pathway during acute kidney injury in endotoxemic rats.Methods:Twenty-four SPF healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 6-8 weeks, weighing 180-220 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=6 each) by a random number table method: control group(group C), endotoxemia group(group E), acupoint electroacupuncture+ endotoxemia group(group EE), and non-acupoint electroacupuncture+ endotoxemia group(group NE). The endotoxemia model was developed by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide 10 mg/kg. The equal volume of normal salinewas injected in group C. LPS 10 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected in group E. In group EE, 30-min electroacupuncture was performed at bilateral Zusanli and Shenshu acupoints using disperse-dense waves with a frequency of 2/15 Hz to induce slight muscle tremor once a day starting from 5 days before developing the model, and the needle was retained until 6 h after injection. Electroacupuncture was performed at the points 0.5 cm lateral to the acupoints of Zusanli and Shenshu in group NE. The rats were anesthetized at 6 h after lipopolysaccharide injection, and blood samples from the femoral vein were obtained for determination of the serum creatinine (Cr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations(with a biochemical analyzer) and concentrations of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipid transport protein (NGAL), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1) in serum (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Then the rats were sacrificed and kidney tissues were taken for determination of histological score of kidneys (HSK, using HE staining) and expression of HO-1, PINK1, Parkin, mitochondrial fusion protein 2(Mfn2), optic atrophy protein 1(OPA1) and mitochondrial dynamic-related protein 1 (Drp1) (by Western blot). Results:Compared with group C, serum concentrations of Cr, BUN, KIM-1, NGAL, IL-6 and TNF-α and HSK score of renal tissues were significantly increased, the expression of HO-1, PINK1, Parkin and Drp1 was up-regulated, and the expression of Mfn2 and OPA1 was down-regulated in E, EE and NE groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group E, serum concentrations of Cr, BUN, KIM-1, NGAL, IL-6 and TNF-α and HSK score of renal tissues were significantly decreased, and the expression of HO-1, PINK1, Parkin, Mfn2 and OPA1 was up-regulated, and Drp1 expression was down-regulated in group EE( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group NE ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The mechanism by which electroacupuncture alleviates acute kidney injury is associated with activation of HO-1/PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway in endotoxemic rats.