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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Activation of hippocampal MEK1 contributes to the cumulative antinociceptive effect of electroacupuncture in neuropathic pain rats

Authors: Yong-Hui Gao, Cheng-Wen Li, Jun-Ying Wang, Yu Kan, Lian-Hong Tan, Xiang-Hong Jing, Jun-Ling Liu

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Electroacupuncture (EA) intervention can relieve a variety of pain; however, optimal EA protocols have not been clearly determined. In addition, although central mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) signaling has been shown to be involved in the antinociceptive effect of acupuncture stimulation, its characteristics at different time-points of EA intervention have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between the effects of different numbers of EA intervention sessions and the activation of MEK1 in the hippocampus and hypothalamus in a rat model of neuropathic pain.

Methods

After ligation of the left sciatic nerve, which induces chronic constriction injury (CCI), the acupoints Zusanli (ST36) and Yanglingquan (GB34) were applied. The thermal withdrawal latency of the hind paw was used to evaluate the effect of EA on pain thresholds. Intra-hippocampus microinjection of PD98059, a MEK inhibitor, was performed to validate the involvement of MEK in EA analgesia. The hippocampus and hypothalamus were harvested to examine the phosphorylation levels of MEK (pMEK) by western blotting.

Results

In CCI rats, the thermal pain threshold of the affected hind paw decreased significantly relative to the control. Following subsequent daily EA interventions, CCI-induced ipsilateral hyperalgesia was markedly improved from day 4 and the analgesic effect of EA lasted 3 days after cessation of EA. Four sessions of EA markedly suppressed CCI-induced decrease of hippocampal pMEK1 (normalized to the total MEK level). In contrast, successive sessions of EA intervention gradually down-regulated the CCI-induced up-regulation of hypothalamic pMEK1 along with the increase numbers of EA intervention. However, EA did not exert the same analgesic effect after microinjection of PD98059 into the contralateral hippocampus during the first 3 days of EA intervention.

Conclusions

EA intervention can induce time-dependent cumulative analgesia in neuropathic pain rats after 4 successive sessions of daily EA intervention, which is at least in part related to the activation of hippocampal MEK1.
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Metadata
Title
Activation of hippocampal MEK1 contributes to the cumulative antinociceptive effect of electroacupuncture in neuropathic pain rats
Authors
Yong-Hui Gao
Cheng-Wen Li
Jun-Ying Wang
Yu Kan
Lian-Hong Tan
Xiang-Hong Jing
Jun-Ling Liu
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1508-z

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