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Chinese tuina downregulates the elevated levels of tissue plasminogen activator in sciatic nerve injured Sprague-Dawley rats

  • Acupuncture Research
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Abstract

Objective

To elucidate the mechanism of Chinese tuina in treating sciatic nerve crush injury, and to detect the levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which is thought to play an important role in nerve regeneration.

Methods

Thirty-two adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sciatic nerve crush injury and 16 rats (sham-operated group) went through a sham operation. Control group was given no treatment while tuina group received tuina therapy since day 7 post-surgery. Tuina treatment was performed once a day and lasted for 20 days. The sciatic functional index was examined every 5 days during the treatment session. The rats’ gastrocnemius muscles were evaluated for changes in mass and immunohistochemistry techniques were performed to detect the levels of tPA and PAI-1.

Results

Tuina therapy improved the motor function of sciatic nerve injured rats (P<0.05), however, it did not increase muscle volume (P<0.05). Tuina downregulated the levels of tPA and PAI-1 (P<0.05).

Conclusions

The present study implies that tuina treatment could accelerate rehabilitation of peripheral nerve injury.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank YU Yue (The People’s Hospital of Ji County, Tianjin) for her technical assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collage of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China

    Fan Pan, Tian-yuan Yu, Steven Wong, Si-tong Xian, Meng-qian Lu & Bin-bin Yao

  2. The 2nd Massage Department, Beijing Massage Hospital, Beijing, 100035, China

    Jian-cong Wu

  3. Department of Encephalopathy of Mogol Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 028000, China

    Yu-feng Gao

  4. Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330019, China

    Xiao-qin Li

  5. Department of Massage Physiotherapy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Dongfang Hospital, Beijing, 100078, China

    Nan Geng

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  1. Fan Pan
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  2. Tian-yuan Yu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tian-yuan Yu.

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81373759), Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No. 20130013110016), Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (No. 7142097)

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Pan, F., Yu, Ty., Wong, S. et al. Chinese tuina downregulates the elevated levels of tissue plasminogen activator in sciatic nerve injured Sprague-Dawley rats. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 23, 617–624 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-015-2142-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-015-2142-1

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