电针不同刺激时长对自闭症大鼠BDNF-CREB相关信号通路的影响

电针不同刺激时长对自闭症大鼠BDNF-CREB相关信号通路的影响摘要：本研究旨在探讨电针不同刺激时长对自闭症大鼠BDNF-CREB相关信号通路的影响。通过行为学测试、免疫荧光及Westernblot等手段对电针1、5、10、20min群体与对照组进行实验，结果显示，电针5min及10min时，自闭症大鼠行为学得分明显提高，BDNF及CREB的表达水平显著升高，并且BDNF与CREB表达呈正相关。但是在电针1min及20min组中，行为学得分和BDNF-CREB信号通路的变化并不明显。因此，我们结论电针5min和10min可以有效地改善自闭症大鼠行为和BDNF-CREB相关信号通路的表达，这有望为临床治疗自闭症提供新的思路和方向。

关键词：电针，自闭症，BDNF，CREB，行为学

Abstract:TheaimofthisstudywastoinvestigatetheeffectsofelectricacupuncturewithdifferentstimulationdurationsontheBDNF-CREBsignalingpathwayinratswithautism.Theexperimentalgroupsofelectricacupuncturefor1,5,10,and20minutesandthecontrolgroupweretestedbybehavioraltests,immunofluorescence,andWesternblot.Theresultsshowedthatthebehavioralscoresofratsintheautismgroupincreasedsignificantlyatelectricacupuncturefor5and10minutes.TheexpressionlevelsofBDNFandCREBalsoincreasedsignificantly,andtheexpressionofBDNFwaspositivelycorrelatedwiththatofCREB.However,thechangesinbehavioralscoresandtheBDNF-CREBsignalingpathwaywerenotsignificantintheelectricacupuncturefor1and20minutesgroups.Therefore,ourconclusionisthatelectricacupuncturefor5and10minutescaneffectivelyimprovethebehaviorofratswithautismandtheexpressionoftheBDNF-CREBsignalpathway,whichmayprovidenewideasanddirectionsfortheclinicaltreatmentofautism.

Keywords:Electricacupuncture,autism,BDNF,CREB,behavioraltestAutismisaneurodevelopmentaldisorderthataffectssocialinteraction,communication,andbehavior.Itisacomplexdisorderwithnoknowncure,andcurrenttreatmentsmainlyfocusonmanagingsymptoms.Acupuncturehasbeensuggestedasapotentialalternativetherapyforautism,butitsefficacyandmechanismofactionarenotwellunderstood.Inthisstudy,weinvestigatedtheeffectsofelectricacupunctureonthebehaviorofratswithautismandtheexpressionoftheBDNF-CREBsignalingpathway.

Ourresultsshowedthatelectricacupuncturefor5and10minutessignificantlyimprovedthebehavioralscoresofratswithautism.Specifically,ratsinthesegroupsshowedreducedrepetitivebehaviors,increasedsocialinteraction,andimprovedlearningandmemorycomparedtothecontrolgroup.However,electricacupuncturefor1and20minutesdidnotshowsignificantchangesinbehavioralscores.

Furthermore,wefoundthatelectricacupuncturefor5and10minutessignificantlyupregulatedtheexpressionofBDNFandCREBintheprefrontalcortexofratswithautism.BDNFandCREBareimportantsignalingmoleculesinvolvedinthegrowthandsurvivalofneurons,aswellaslearningandmemoryprocesses.TheupregulationofBDNFandCREBsuggeststhatelectricacupuncturemayenhanceneuronalfunctionandpromoteneuroplasticityinratswithautism.

Overall,ourfindingssuggestthatelectricacupuncturefor5and10minutescaneffectivelyimprovethebehaviorofratswithautismandenhancetheexpressionoftheBDNF-CREBsignalingpathway.Theseresultsprovidenewinsightsintothepotentialuseofacupunctureasatherapeuticapproachforautism.FurtherstudiesareneededtovalidatethesefindingsinhumansandexploretheunderlyingmechanismsofactionInadditiontothepromisingeffectsofacupunctureontheBDNF-CREBsignalingpathway,otherpotentialmechanismsofactionmayexplainitstherapeuticbenefitsforindividualswithautism.Onepossibleexplanationisthatacupuncturecanmodulatetheactivityoftheautonomicnervoussystemandpromoteastateofrelaxationthatmayhelpreduceanxietyandimprovesocialbehaviorsinindividualswithautism.

Anotherpossiblemechanismisthestimulationofspecificacupuncturepointsthatcouldactivatethereleaseofendogenousopioids,whichareknowntoproduceasenseofwellbeingandpainrelief.ThismechanismmayormaynotberelatedtotheBDNF-CREBpathway,butithighlightsthepotentialbenefitsofacupunctureforpainmanagement,whichisacommoncomorbidityinindividualswithautism.

Furthermore,acupuncturehasbeenshowntohaveanti-inflammatorypropertiesthatcouldreducethelevelsofpro-inflammatorycytokines,suchasIL-6andTNF-alpha,whichhavebeenlinkedtothepathophysiologyofautism.Byattenuatingneuroinflammation,acupuncturecouldindirectlypromotethesurvivalanddifferentiationofneuronalcellsandimproveneuralconnectivity,whicharecriticalprocessesforneuroplasticity.

Despitethesepotentialmechanismsofaction,somechallengesandlimitationsexistintheuseofacupunctureforautism.Oneofthesechallengesisthevariabilityinindividualresponses,whichcouldbeinfluencedbyfactorssuchasage,gender,severityofsymptoms,andindividualdifferencesinacupuncturepointselectionandneedlingtechnique.

Anotherchallengeisthelackofconsensusontheoptimaldurationandfrequencyofacupuncturesessions,aswellasthebestcombinationofacupunctureandotherinterventions,suchasbehavioraltherapiesorpharmacologicaltreatments.Additionally,someindividualsmaynottolerateacupunctureneedlesormayexperienceadverseeffects,suchaspain,bleeding,orinfection.

Overall,whilethereisgrowinginterestintheuseofacupunctureforautism,furtherresearchisneededtoclarifyitspotentialbenefitsandlimitations,aswellastheunderlyingmechanismsofaction.Futurestudiesshouldconsidertheuseofrandomizedcontrolledtrials,largersamplesizes,andstandardizedprotocolstoensurereproducibilityandcomparabilityacrossstudies.Additionally,studiesshouldexploretheeffectsofacupunctureonbroaderdomainsoffunctioning,suchasadaptivebehavior,communication,andself-careskills,aswellasthelong-termeffectsofacupunctureonneurodevelopmentaloutcomesinindividualswithautismFurthermore,itisimportanttoinvestigatethesafetyandtolerabilityofacupunctureinindividualswithautism,particularlyinthosewithsensorysensitivities,giventheinvasivenatureoftheprocedure.Potentialadverseeffects,suchasbruising,bleeding,andinfection,shouldbecarefullymonitoredanddocumentedinfuturestudies.

Anotherareaofresearchthatwarrantsattentionistheoptimaltimingofacupunctureinthecareofindividualswithautism.Somestudieshavesuggestedthatearlierinitiationofacupuncturemayresultinbetteroutcomes,whileothershavefoundnosignificantdifferencesinoutcomebasedontimingoftreatment.Moreresearchisneededtoelucidatetheroleofacupunctureintheearlyinterventionandongoingcareofindividualswithautism.

Inaddition,thespecificacupuncturepointsandprotocolsusedinthetreatmentofautismshouldbecarefullyconsidered.Whilethereissomeoverlapinthepointsusedacrossstudies,thereisalsosignificantvariationinthespecificpointsandprotocolsemployed.Futurestudiesshouldaimtostandardizetheseelementstoensureconsistencyandtofacilitatecomparisonsacrossstudies.

Overall,whiletheexistingevidencesuggeststhatacupuncturemaybeapromisingtherapyforthetreatmentofautism,significantgapsinknowledgeremain.Furtherresearchisneededtoelucidatethemechanismsofaction,toexploretheeffectsonbroaderd