Antidepressant-like effects of acupuncture involved the ERK signaling pathway in rats

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Research Article

Tuya Bao¹  Miao Yu¹  Yu Guo¹  Yu Wang¹  Bingcong Zhao¹  Xuhui Zhang¹  Mingmin Xu¹  Yingzhou Song¹  Chuntao Zhang² 

[1] Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 100029, Beijing, Beijing, China;Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 100029, Beijing, Beijing, China;Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, 712046, Xianyang, Shanxi, China;

关键词: Acupuncture;    Depression;    Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK);    Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS);    Neurogenesis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12906-016-1356-x

 received in 2016-01-09, accepted in 2016-09-13,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway is considered to be associated with the pathogenesis and treatment of depression. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to ameliorate depression-related behavior and promote neurogenesis. In this study, we explored the role of the ERK signaling pathway in the antidepressant-like effects of acupuncture in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS).MethodsEighty male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into eight groups: control group, model group, model + Acupuncture group (Acu group), model + fluoxetine group (FLX group), model + DMSO group (DMSO group), model + PD98059 group (PD group), model + Acupuncture + PD98059 group (Acu + PD group) and model + fluoxetine + PD98059 group (FLX + PD group). Except for the control group, all rats were subjected to 3 weeks of CUMS protocols to induce depression. Acupuncture was carried out for 10 min at acupoints of Baihui (GV-20) and Yintang (GV-29) each day during the experimental procedure. The ERK signaling pathway was inhibited using PD98059 through intracerebroventricular injection. The depression-like behaviors were evaluated using the sucrose intake and open-field tests. The protein levels of ERK1/2, phosphor (p)-ERK1/2, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), p-CREB and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus were examined using western blot.ResultsAcupuncture ameliorated the depression-like behaviors and dysfunction of the ERK signaling pathway in the hippocampus of CUMS rats. PD98059 pretreatment inhibited the improvements brought about by acupuncture on the ERK signaling pathway.ConclusionsTaken together, our results indicated that acupuncture had a significant antidepressant-like effect on CUMS-induced depression model rats, and the ERK signaling pathway was implicated in this effect.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016