Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture(EA) on the expression of vimentin and β-Tubulin(Tju-1) in the dorsolateral extension and the lateral wall of the lateral ventricle(both of which belong to the subependymal ventricular zone

SVZ) on the ischemic side of the brain in rats with hyperlipemia(HL) plus cerebral ischemia(CI) so as to study its underlying mechanism in relievting HL

CI and combined HL and CI by regulating the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells.Methods Seventy two male SD rats were randomized into control

HL

HL+ EA

CI

CI+manual acupuncture(MA)

HL+CI

HL+CI+EAⅠ and HL+CI+EAⅡgroups

with 9 cases in each.HL model was established by feeding the animals with high fat forage for 6 weeks and CI model was duplicated by occlusion of the unilateral middle cerebral artery induced by regional application of FeCl_3.For rats of HL+EA group

EA(15 Hz

1-3 mA) was applied to bilateral "Sanyinjiao"(SP 6) and "Fenglong"(ST 40) for 20 min

once daily for 17 days.For rats of CI+MA group

"Baihui"(GV 20) and "Shuigou"(GV 26) were punctured and stimulated manually for 1 min(the former with the needle retained for 20 min)

once daily for 7 days.For rats of HL+CI+EAⅠ group

bilateral "Sanyinjiao"(SP 6) and "Fenglong"(ST 40) were stimulated electrically after needle-insertion

once daily for 10 days

followed by duplicating CI model and performing MA stimulation of GV 20 and GV 26 respectively

once daily for 7 days.For rats of HL+CI+EAⅡgroups

EA was applied to bilateral SP 6 and ST 40

and simultaneous MA stimulation of GV 20 and GV 26

once daily for 7 days after HL+CI.The expression of vimentin and Tuj-1 in the dorsolateral extension and the lateral wall of the cerebral lateral ventricle on the ischemic side was detected by immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the control group

the expression levels of both vimentin and Tuj-1 in the dorsolateral extension and the lateral wall of the lateral ventricle of the brain on the ischemic side were increased significantly in the CI and HL+CI groups(P<0.01)

while compared with the CI group

the expression of vimentin and Tuj-1 in the CI+MA group were increased further significantly(P<0.01).In comparison with the HL+CI group

the expression of vimentin and Tuj-1 in the HL+CI+EAⅠ and HL+CI+EAⅡ groups were also upregula-ted considerably(P<0.01).Comparison between the HL+CI+EAⅠ and HL+CI+EAⅡ groups showed that the expression le-vels of vimentin and Tuj-1 were significantly lower in the latter group than in the former group(P<0.01).No significant diffrences were found between the HL and control groups

and between the HL and HL+EA groups in the expression of vimentin and Tuj-1(P>0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture and Acupuncture+EA can further significantly upregulate the expression levels of vimentin and Tuj-1 in both the dorsolateral extension and the lateral wall of the cerebral lateral ventricle on the ischemic side in rats with CI and CI+HL

which may contribute to their effects in improving CI and HL+CI by suppressing the reduction of proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cell in the SVZ of the ischemic brain induced by CI and HL+CI.