Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) on Leptin and Leptin receptor(OB-Rb) of insulin resistant obese(OIR) rats

so as to explore its possible mechanism for obesity. Methods Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal

model and EA groups

with 8 rats in each group. The OIR model was established by feeding the rats with high-fat diet for 8 weeks. EA(2 Hz

1 mA) was applied to "Zhongwan"(CV12)

"Guanyuan"(CV4)

"Zusanli"(ST36) and "Fenglong"(ST40) for 30 min

once every other day for 8 weeks. At the 6

(th)

week of intervention

glucose contents of intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test(IPGTT) and intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test(IPITT) were measured. After 8 weeks' intervention

the body weight and food intake were recorded. Serum total cholesterol(TC) and total triglyceride(TG) were assayed by using an automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression levels of Leptin and OB-Rb proteins in the small intestine and hypothalamus were detected by Western blot. Results Following modeling

the body weight

food intake

IPGTT

IPITT

the contents of serum TC and TG

and the expressions of Leptin protein in small intestine and hypothalamus were significantly up-regulated(P

<

0.01

P

<

0.05)

and the expressions of OB-Rb protein in small intestine and hypothalamus were significantly down-regulated(P

<

0.05) in the model group compared with the normal group. After EA treatment

all the indexes mentioned above were completely reversed in the EA group relevant to the model group(P

<

0.05

P

<

0.01). Conclusion EA can improve insulin resis-tance by up-regulating the OB-Rb protein expression and enhancing the binding force of Leptin and OB-Rb.