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Involvement of Interleukin-1 β/Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in Ameliorating Effects of Electroacupuncture on Myocardial Fibrosis Induced by Essential Hypertension

  • Acupuncture Research
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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at Neiguan (PC 6) on myocardial fibrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and to explore the contribution of interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF- β 1) to the effects.

Methods

Nine 12-weeks-old Wistar Kyoto (WKY) male rats were employed as the normal group. Twenty-seven SHRs were equally randomized into SHR, SHR+EA, and SHR + sham groups. EA was applied at bilateral PC 6 once a day 30 min per day in 8 consecutive weeks. After 8-weeks EA treatment at PC 6, histopathologic changes of collagen type I (Col I), collagen type 1 (Col 1) and the levels of IGF-1, 1L-1 β, TGF- β 1, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were examined in myocardial tissure respectively.

Results

After 8-weeks EA treatment at PC 6, the enhanced myocardial fibrosis in SHRs were characterized by the increased mean fluorescence intensity of Col I and Col 1 in myocardium tissue (P<0.01). All these abnormal alterations above in SHR + EA group was significantly lower compared with the SHR group (P<0.01). Meanwhile, the increased levels of IL-1 β, IGF-1, TGF-β 1 in serum or myocardial tissue of SHRs, diminished MMP 9 mRNA expression in SHRs were also markedly inhibited after 8 weeks of EA treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, the contents of IL-1 β, IGF-1, TGF-β 1 in myocardial tissue were positively correlated with the systolic blood pressure and hydroxyproline respectively (P<0.01).

Conclusion

EA at bilateral PC 6 could ameliorate cardiac fibrosis in SHRs, which might be mediated by regulation of 1L-1 β/IGF-1-TGF- β 1-MMP9 pathway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China

    Juan-juan Xin, Jun-hong Gao, Qun Liu, Yu-xue Zhao, Chen Zhou & Xiao-chun Yu

Authors
  1. Juan-juan Xin
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  2. Jun-hong Gao
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  3. Qun Liu
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  4. Yu-xue Zhao
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  5. Chen Zhou
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  6. Xiao-chun Yu
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Contributions

The experiments were done by Xin JJ, Liu Q, Zhao YX and Zhou C. Gao JH provided advice on the statistical analyses and data interpretation. Xin JJ drafted and finalized the paper. Yu XC was responsible for the conception, design, and supervision of the implementation of the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiao-chun Yu.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81804211, No. 81774439) and China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Foundation (No. ZZ13-YQ-065)

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Xin, Jj., Gao, Jh., Liu, Q. et al. Involvement of Interleukin-1 β/Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in Ameliorating Effects of Electroacupuncture on Myocardial Fibrosis Induced by Essential Hypertension. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 29, 162–169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-022-2897-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-022-2897-0

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