Electroacupuncture decreases nitric oxide synthesis in the hypothalamus of spontaneously hypertensive rats
| Autor: | Yong-Suk Kim, Youngbuhm Huh, Jong-In Kim, Chan Park, Changhwan Kim, Sung-Keel Kang, Myeong Soo Lee |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Electroacupuncture medicine.medical_treatment Central nervous system Hypothalamus Down-Regulation Blood Pressure Cell Count Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I Nitric Oxide Nitric oxide chemistry.chemical_compound Spontaneously hypertensive rat Rats Inbred SHR Internal medicine medicine Animals Homeostasis Image Cytometry Neurons NADPH dehydrogenase Staining and Labeling biology General Neuroscience NADPH Dehydrogenase Immunohistochemistry Rats Enzyme Activation Nitric oxide synthase Disease Models Animal Autonomic nervous system Treatment Outcome Endocrinology medicine.anatomical_structure nervous system chemistry Hypertension biology.protein |
| Zdroj: | Neuroscience Letters. 446:78-82 |
| ISSN: | 0304-3940 |
| Popis: | Acupuncture-related effects on autonomic function have been explored via biological and neurophysiologic studies. The hypothalamus, known to regulate the autonomic nervous system, is likely affected by acupuncture treatment that modulates sympathetic functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture at the Jogsamni point (ST36, an acupoint known to modulate autonomic function) on expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the hypothalamus of spontaneously hypertensive rat. Nitric oxide, which is produced by nNOS activity, plays an important role in the regulation of many physiologic processes, including sympathetic activities, in the hypothalamus and other parts of the brain. nNOS expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry of nNOS and histochemistry of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d). The staining intensities of nNOS-positive neurons and NADPH-d-positive neurons were quantitatively assessed using microdensitometry to measure changes in optical density. The results show that electroacupuncture at ST36 reduced the expression and activity of nNOS in the hypothalamus of spontaneously hypertensitive rats. These findings suggest that the electroacupuncture at ST36 results in modulation of the activity of nNOS in the hypothalamus of spontaneously hypertensive rat. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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