Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain-Related Emotion by Upregulating the Expression of NPS and Its Receptor NPSR in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Hypothalamus
Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain-Related Emotion by Upregulating the Expression of NPS and Its Receptor NPSR in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Hypothalamus
复制标题
电针通过上调前扣带皮层和下丘脑 NPS 及其受体 NPSR 的表达来缓解疼痛相关情绪
DOI：
10.1155/2020/8630368
复制
发表时间：
2020-02-10
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Du, Junying
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Xu, Zitong;Fang, JunFan;Du, Junying
目的 据报道，电针 (EA) 可有效缓解与疼痛相关的情绪；然而，其影响的根本机制仍需阐明。 NPS-NPSR 系统已被验证参与镇痛和情绪行为的调节。在这里，我们的目的是研究前扣带皮层 (ACC)、下丘脑和中央杏仁核 (CeA) 中的 NPS-NPSR 系统在使用电针缓解由完全弗氏佐剂 (CFA-) 诱发条件性位置厌恶 (C-CPA) 建模的情感疼痛中的作用。材料和方法。引入CFA注射结合CPA范式建立C-CPA模型，并使用高架O迷宫（EOM）测试模型建立后的行为变化。我们通过免疫荧光染色和实时定量PCR进一步探讨了NPS和NPSR在感兴趣的大脑区域的蛋白质和基因水平上的表达。结果我们观察到，电针刺激双侧足三里（ST36）和昆仑（BL60）穴位可显着抑制感觉疼痛、疼痛诱发的地方厌恶和焦虑样行为。目前的研究表明，电针显着增强了 ACC 和下丘脑中该肽系统的蛋白表达，而 NPSR 蛋白表达的升高仅局限于 CeA 中受影响的一侧。此外，EA显着上调CeA、ACC和下丘脑中NPS mRNA的表达以及下丘脑和CeA中NPSR mRNA的表达。结论 这些数据表明 EA 在缓解情感性疼痛方面的有效性，这些益处可能至少部分归因于 ACC 和下丘脑中 NPS-NPSR 系统的上调。
Objective Electroacupuncture (EA) is reported effective in alleviating pain-related emotion; however, the underlying mechanism of its effects still needs to be elucidated. The NPS-NPSR system has been validated for the involvement in the modulation of analgesia and emotional behavior. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of the NPS-NPSR system in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hypothalamus, and central amygdala (CeA) in the use of EA to relieve affective pain modeled by complete Freund's adjuvant- (CFA-) evoked conditioned place aversion (C-CPA). Materials and Methods. CFA injection combined with a CPA paradigm was introduced to establish the C-CPA model, and the elevated O-maze (EOM) was used to test the behavioral changes after model establishment. We further explored the expression of NPS and NPSR at the protein and gene levels in the brain regions of interest by immunofluorescence staining and quantitative real-time PCR. Results We observed that EA stimulation delivered to the bilateral Zusanli (ST36) and Kunlun (BL60) acupoints remarkably inhibited sensory pain, pain-evoked place aversion, and anxiety-like behavior. The current study showed that EA significantly enhanced the protein expression of this peptide system in the ACC and hypothalamus, while the elevated expression of NPSR protein alone was just confined to the affected side in the CeA. Moreover, EA remarkably upregulated the mRNA expression of NPS in CeA, ACC, and hypothalamus and NPSR mRNA in the hypothalamus and CeA. Conclusions These data suggest the effectiveness of EA in alleviating affective pain, and these benefits may at least partially be attributable to the upregulation of the NPS-NPSR system in the ACC and hypothalamus.