Involvement of connexin 43 in acupuncture analgesia  

作　　者：HUANG Guang-ying ZHENG Cui-hong YU Wei-chang TIAN Dai-shi WANG Wei 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine ,Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China [2]Department of Neurology ,Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China

出　　处：《Chinese Medical Journal》2009年第1期54-60,共7页中华医学杂志（英文版）

基　　金：This work was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 90209009） and the National Basic Research Program （No. 2006CB504502）.

摘　　要：Background Connexin 43 （Cx43） is one of the major components of human keratinocyte gap junctions. To study whether gap junctional intercellular communication participates in the transfer of acupoint signals and acupuncture analgesia, the expression of Cx43 was studied in Zusanli （ST36） acupoints compared with control non-acupoint regions in rats after acupuncture. In addition, Cx43 heterozygous gene knockout mice were used to further explore the relationship between Cx43 and acupuncture analgesia.Methods The expression of Cx43 was detected by immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, and RT-PCR for the Cx43 protein and mRNA. The influence of the Cx43 gene knockout on acupuncture analgesia was measured by a hot plate and observing the writhing response on Cx43 heterozygous gene knockout mice. Results Immunohistochemistry showed abundant Cx43 expression in some cells in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of rat ST36 acupoints. The mRNA and protein levels of Cx43 in acupoints were significantly higher than those in the control points in the non-acupuncture group, and even more so after acupuncture. The hot plate and writhing response experiments showed that partial knockout of the Cx43 gene decreased acupuncture analgesia. Conclusion Cx43 expression and acupuncture analgesia showed a positive correlation.Background Connexin 43 （Cx43） is one of the major components of human keratinocyte gap junctions. To study whether gap junctional intercellular communication participates in the transfer of acupoint signals and acupuncture analgesia, the expression of Cx43 was studied in Zusanli （ST36） acupoints compared with control non-acupoint regions in rats after acupuncture. In addition, Cx43 heterozygous gene knockout mice were used to further explore the relationship between Cx43 and acupuncture analgesia.Methods The expression of Cx43 was detected by immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, and RT-PCR for the Cx43 protein and mRNA. The influence of the Cx43 gene knockout on acupuncture analgesia was measured by a hot plate and observing the writhing response on Cx43 heterozygous gene knockout mice. Results Immunohistochemistry showed abundant Cx43 expression in some cells in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of rat ST36 acupoints. The mRNA and protein levels of Cx43 in acupoints were significantly higher than those in the control points in the non-acupuncture group, and even more so after acupuncture. The hot plate and writhing response experiments showed that partial knockout of the Cx43 gene decreased acupuncture analgesia. Conclusion Cx43 expression and acupuncture analgesia showed a positive correlation.

关 键 词：connexin 43 gene knockout acupuncture analgesia hot plate test writhing response 

分 类 号：R245[医药卫生—针灸推拿学]