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| Effect of the brain-refreshing and intelligence-promoting acupuncture method on cognitive function and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in Alzheimer’s disease rats |
| Hits 30 Download times 5 Received:February 10, 2026 |
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| DOI
10.11656/j.issn.1672-1519.2026.05.13 |
| Key Words
brain-refreshing and intelligence-promoting acupuncture method;Alzheimer’s disease;cognitive function;Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway |
| Author Name | Affiliation | E-mail | | JING Xiaoxu | Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | | | CHEN Ling | Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | | | WANG Ying | Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | | | ZHANG Runchen | Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | | | YU Zhen | Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | | | YANG Yuanqing | Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300120, China | muerguang@163.com |
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| Abstract
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| [Objective] To explore the mechanism of the brain-refreshing and intelligence-promoting acupuncture method on cognitive function in rats with Alzheimer’s disease（AD）. [Methods] Twelve SPF male SD rats were randomly divided into control group，sham operation group，model group and acupuncture group，with 3 rats in each group. Except for the control group，the rats in the model group and the acupuncture group were injected with Streptozotocin（STZ） into the lateral ventricle to construct the AD model，and the rats in the sham operation group were injected with the same dose of citric acid/sodium citrate buffer. After successful modeling，the brain-refreshing and intelligence-promoting acupuncture method was used for treatment for 4 weeks，6 times a week. After acupuncture，the Morris water maze was used to evaluate cognitive function. The levels of serum tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α） and interferon-γ（IFN-γ） and the content of β-amyloid 1-42（Aβ1-42） in hippocampus were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. The levels of oxidative stress indexes malondialdehyde（MDA） and reactive oxygen species（ROS） in frontal lobe tissue and hippocampus and the total antioxidant capacity（T-AOC） in hippocampus were detected by colorimetry. The mRNA and protein expressions of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2（Nrf2） and heme oxygenase-1（HO-1） in frontal lobe tissue and hippocampus，and Kelch-like epichlorohydrin-related protein 1（Keap1） in hippocampus were detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction（qRT-PCR） and Western blot. [Results] Compared with the control group，there were no significant differences in the escape latency from days 2 to 4，the number of platform crossings，the time spent in the target quadrant，the levels of TNF-α，IFN-γ，Aβ1-42，T-AOC，MDA and ROS，as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of Keap1，Nrf2 and HO-1 compared with the control group（P>0.05）；compared with the control group and sham-operated group，the escape latency of the model group was prolonged from days 2 to 4（P<0.05，P<0.01）；the number of crossing the platform and the residence time in the target quadrant were decreased（P<0.05）；the levels of TNF-α，IFN-γ，Aβ1-42，MDA and ROS were increased（P<0.05，P<0.01）；the level of T-AOC was decreased（P<0.01），and the mRNA and protein expression levels of Keap1 were increased（P<0.01），while the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 were decreased（P<0.05，P<0.01）；compared with the model group，the escape latency was shortened from days 1 to 4（P<0.05，P<0.01）；the number of crossing the platform and the residence time in the target quadrant were increased（P<0.05）；the levels of TNF-α，IFN-γ，Aβ1-42，MDA and ROS were decreased（P<0.05，P<0.01）；the level of T-AOC was increased（P<0.01），the mRNA and protein expression levels of Keap1 were decreased（P<0.01），and the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 were increased in the acupuncture group（P<0.05，P<0.01）. [Conclusion] Brain-refreshing and intelligence-promoting acupuncture method improves cognitive dysfunction in AD rats，and its mechanism of action may be associated with the activation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. |
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