Proteomics analysis of the middle cerebral artery occlusion rats with electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui

Abstract

Background: Numerous studies showed that electroacupuncture at Shenting (GV24) and Baihui (GV20) could improve cognitive function in MCAO rats. However, the underlying molecular protein mechanisms need to be further investigated, including the effects of electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui points on MCAO-related gene and protein expression. Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) adult male rats (n = 40) were randomly divided into the following four groups: sham group (SHAM/S), Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO/M) group, electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui group (EA/E) and acupuncture at non-meridian and non-acupuncture points (NON/N) (n = 10 per group). After one week of electroacupuncture treatment, the protein expression of hippocampus-related genes in the brain regions of rats in all was measured. Three samples from each groups were used to identify potential biomarkers in the hippocampus of the rat brain region using tandem mass labeling (TMT), liquid chromatography and functional enrichment clustering analysis of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). The protein interactions network was analysed by enrichment clustering to explore the major and potential protein targets of electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui for the treatment of MCAO rats. Results: (1) Protein functional annotation and repeated quantitative analysis showed that protein expression in the E groups was closer to that in the S group, while the N group similarly to the M group. These demonstrated that electroacupuncture could regulate protein expression in the hippocampal region of MCAO rats to normalize the expression. (2) The difference in protein expression between groups quantified by the specific peptide could be hypothesized that the improvement of learning memory in MCAO rats after electroacupuncture of Shenting and Baihui was achieved by the downregulation of a class or a specific protein in hippocampus. (3) It was observed that the inter-synaptic regulatory proteins were the structural basis for the improvement of protein expression in MCAO rats by electroacupuncture, which could provide a new idea for the localization and characterization of specific proteins. Conclusions: Our findings provided valuable protein biomarkers and new ideas for future mechanistic studies on improving cognitive function in post-stroke cognitive impairment.

Keywords

• Stroke
• MCAO
• Cognitive function
• Electroacupuncture
• Proteomics