Objective: To explore the effects of electroacupuncture(EA) on metabolic patterns of the prefrontal cortex in rats with acute myocardial ischemia.
Methods: Eighteen SD rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group and EA group, with 6 rats in each group. Rats in the model and EA groups were subject to acute myocardial ischemia by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. For the EA group, EA stimulation (1 mA, 2 Hz/15 Hz, 30 min) was applied to "Shenmen"(HT7) -"Tongli"(HT5) once a day for 3 consecutive days. The histopathological changes of myocardial tissue and levels of ischemia modified albumin (IMA) in serum were determined by HE staining and ELISA, respectively. The LC-MS/MS technique was used to characterize the metabolic profiling of the prefrontal cortex. The differentially expressed metabolites were screened by principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares-linear discriminant analysis (PLS-LDA), and subsequently Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathway enrichment analysis was performed.
Results: Compared with the sham group, the myocardial fibers were disordered and fractured, and content of serum IMA was significantly increased in the model group (P<0.01), which, however, were significantly decreased in the EA group (P<0.01). With PCA and PLS-LDA, there were 18 differential metabolites between the model and sham groups. Forty-eight differential metabolites were emerged between the EA and model groups. Three metabolites associated to the sphingolipid metabolism were reversed by EA stimulation, as indicated by KEGG.
Conclusion: The molecular mechanism of EA against myocardial ischemia is partially mediated by regulating sphingolipid-related metabolites in the prefrontal cortex.
目的：从代谢组学的角度研究电针对急性心肌缺血大鼠前额叶皮质代谢物的影响，探讨电针治疗急性心肌缺血的中枢机制。方法：SD大鼠随机分为假手术组、模型组、电针组，每组6只。采用左冠状动脉前降支结扎法复制急性心肌缺血模型。电针组电针心经“神门”-“通里”段，每次30 min，每日1次，连续3 d。HE染色法观察各组大鼠心肌组织病理形态的变化；酶联免疫吸附法测定各组大鼠血清缺血修饰白蛋白(IMA)含量；采用液相色谱-质谱联用技术对各组大鼠前额叶皮质的代谢物进行分析，结合主成分分析，偏最小二乘-线性判别分析筛选差异代谢物，并对差异代谢物进行KEGG代谢通路富集分析。结果：与假手术组相比，模型组心肌纤维排列紊乱，心肌纤维断裂明显，血清IMA含量显著升高(P<0.01)；与模型组相比，电针组心肌纤维排列较为整齐，心肌纤维断裂减少，血清IMA含量显著降低(P<0.01)。差异代谢物分析显示，模型组与假手术组相比，有18个差异代谢物；电针组与模型组相比，有48个差异代谢物。其中电针逆转了植物鞘胺醇、二氢鞘胺醇及乙酰谷酰胺3个差异代谢物的水平。KEGG代谢通路富集分析显示电针逆转的差异代谢物主要富集于鞘脂类代谢。结论：前额叶皮质参与针刺抗心肌缺血的分子机制可能与电针调控鞘脂类代谢物有关。.
Keywords: Acute myocardial ischemia; Electroacupuncture; Metabolomics; Prefrontal cortex.