Perimenopausal depression is caused by the impaired function of the ovarium before menopause and with a series of symptoms. Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been demonstrated to improve clinically depression. However, the mechanism underlying its therapeutic activity remains unknown. This study used chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) combined with bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) to establish a rat model of perimenopausal depression, and investigated the effects of EA treatment on the hippocampal neural proliferation. Four-week EA treatment at three points including “Shenshu” (BL 23), “Baihui” (DU 20), and “Sanyinjiao” (SP 6) simultaneously ameliorated depression-like behaviors in rats with CUMS and OVX, whereas rescued the decreased serum level of estrogen (E2) and prevented the increased serum levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and luteinizing hormone. EA treatment ameliorated CUMS and OVX-induced alterations of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and β-catenin mRNA levels, β-catenin and phosphorylated β-catenin (p-β-catenin) protein levels. The results showed that EA treatment promoted hippocampal neural proliferation in perimenopausal depression rats via activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, indicating that EA may represent an efficacious therapy for perimenopausal depression.
Research Article
Electroacupuncture Promotes Neural Proliferation in Hippocampus of Perimenopausal Depression Rats via Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway
The State Key Laboratory of Chinese Educational Commission for Viscera Theory and Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110847, China
Published online April 8, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2020.03.065
Copyright © Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute.
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Research Article
2020; ():
Published online April 8, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2020.03.065
Copyright © Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute.
Electroacupuncture Promotes Neural Proliferation in Hippocampus of Perimenopausal Depression Rats via Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway
Qin Jing†, Lu Ren†*, Xue Deng, Nan Zhang, Martin Fu, Ge Wang, Xi-Rong Jiang, Shu-Ru Lin, Cai-Rong Ming
The State Key Laboratory of Chinese Educational Commission for Viscera Theory and Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110847, China
Correspondence to:Lu Ren
Abstract
Perimenopausal depression is caused by the impaired function of the ovarium before menopause and with a series of symptoms. Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been demonstrated to improve clinically depression. However, the mechanism underlying its therapeutic activity remains unknown. This study used chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) combined with bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) to establish a rat model of perimenopausal depression, and investigated the effects of EA treatment on the hippocampal neural proliferation. Four-week EA treatment at three points including “Shenshu” (BL 23), “Baihui” (DU 20), and “Sanyinjiao” (SP 6) simultaneously ameliorated depression-like behaviors in rats with CUMS and OVX, whereas rescued the decreased serum level of estrogen (E2) and prevented the increased serum levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and luteinizing hormone. EA treatment ameliorated CUMS and OVX-induced alterations of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and β-catenin mRNA levels, β-catenin and phosphorylated β-catenin (p-β-catenin) protein levels. The results showed that EA treatment promoted hippocampal neural proliferation in perimenopausal depression rats via activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, indicating that EA may represent an efficacious therapy for perimenopausal depression.
Keywords: electroacupuncture, neural proliferation, perimenopausal depression, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway