Electroacupuncture Alleviates Neuropathic Pain through Regulating miR-206-3p Targeting BDNF after CCI.
Neural Plast 2022;
2022:1489841. [PMID:
35719137 PMCID:
PMC9203241 DOI:
10.1155/2022/1489841]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Electroacupuncture (EA) has benefits for neuropathic pain. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. The current study explores the underlying mechanisms of EA in neuropathic pain of chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats. Material/Methods. Overall, 126 Sprague-Dawley (200-250 g) rats were divided into nine groups randomly: the sham-operated, CCI, CCI+EA, CCI+sham EA, CCI+NS, CCI+AAV-NC, CCI+AAV-miR-206-3p, CCI+EA+NS, and CCI+EA+AAV-miR-206-3p groups. The animals were sacrificed 14 days postsurgery. Mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) tests were used to determine differences in neurobehavioral manifestations. qPCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence (IF) were carried out to detect the expression levels of miR-206-3p, BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6. Nissl staining was measured to observe morphological changes in neurons. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to evaluate microscopic changes in dorsal horn synapses.
Results
Hyperalgesia was reduced markedly by EA in the CCI model. The expression level of miR-206-3p was elevated, whereas the expression levels of BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 were decreased in EA-treated CCI rats. However, a miR-206-3p inhibitor partially abrogated the analgesic effect of EA and resulted in poor behavioral performance and the BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression was elevated as well.
Conclusions
EA can relieve neuropathic pain by regulating the miR-206-3p/BDNF pathway, thus exerting anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effect.
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