Objective To observe the anti-apoptosis effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on gastrocnemius muscle cells in rats with denervated sciatic nerve

so as to explore its possible mechanisms underlying delaying atrophy of skeletal muscle.Methods Sixty-three male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham operation group

model group

and EA group

and then further divided into 3subgroups in each group(n=7/subgroup).Gastrocnemius muscle atrophy model was established by transecting the sciatic nerve of rat.EA(5Hz

1.5mA)was applied to "Zusanli"(ST 36)and "Chengshan"(BL 57)acupoints at the affected side for 10 min

once a day for 1

2

3 weeks

respectively.The gastrocnemius muscles were sampled on the 7

(th)

14 (th)

14

(th)

21(th)

21

(th)

d after modeling

separately.The apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL staining.Bcl-2

Bax

Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were determined by Western blot.RT-PCR was used to check Caspase-3 gene expression.Results Compared with the sham operation group

the cell apoptotic index in gastrocnemius was markedly higher

gastrocnemius Bcl-2 protein expression was markedly down-regulated

and gastrocnemius Bax

Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were considerably up-regulated in the model group at all time-points(P

<

0.05).Compared with the model group

the cell apoptotic indexes in gastrocnemius were significantly lower in the three EA subgroups(P

<

0.05).Bcl-2 protein expressions were markedly up-regulated while Bax

Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were significantly down-regulated in the EA group 14

21 days after modeling compared with the corresponding model subgroups(P

<

0.05).The changes of Caspase-3 mRNA expression levels of gastrocnemius in all groups were similar to those of Caspase-3 protein expressions.Conclusion Electroacupuncture intervention can effectively increase Bcl-2 expression and decrease Bax

Cyt-C and Caspase-3 expression in gastrocnemius muscle

and consequently reduce the apoptosis of muscle cell

which may contribute to its effect in delaying the skeletal muscle atrophy of denervated sciatic nerve.