Objective To observe the effect of acupuncture on the expression of miR-34 c-5 p

autophagy-related proteins and apoptosis rate in hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury(CI/RI)

so as to explore its mechanism in regulating autophagy in hippocampal neurons in CI/RI rats. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation

model

medication and acupuncture groups

with 20 rats in each group. The rat model of CI/RI was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. In the acupuncture group

“Dazhui”(GV14)

“Baihui”(GV20) and “Shuigou”(GV26) were punctured with filiform needles and stimulated manually once every 15 min

for 30 min. The rats of the medication group were intraperito-neally injected with edaravone(5 mg/kg). The treatment was conducted once every 12 h for a total of 7 times. The neurological de-ficit score of all the rats were evaluated according to Garcia's methods

and TTC staining was employed to assess the cerebral ischemic area(percentage of cerebral infarct area

CIA). Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to observe the ultrastructural changes of hippocampal neurons. The expression of hippocampal miR-34 c-5 p was measured by real-time PCR

and the protein expressions of hippocampal LC3 B

Beclin1 and p62 were measured by Western blot. The apoptosis rate of ischemic brain tissue was observed by TUNEL staining. Results Compared with the sham operation group

the neurological deficit score

the expressions of miR-34 c-5 p

Beclin1

p62 and LC3 B-Ⅱ/LC3 B-Ⅰ were significantly decreased(P<0.01

P<0.05)

and the CIA and the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P<0.01) in the model group. Compared with the model group

the neurological deficit scores

the expressions of miR-34 c-5 p

Beclin1

p62 and LC3 B-Ⅱ/LC3 B-Ⅰ were significantly increased(P<0.01

P<0.05)

and the CIA and the apoptosis rate significantly decreased(P<0.01) in the medication and acupuncture groups. Compared with the medication group

the expression of miR-34 c-5 p was significantly increased(P<0.01). The results of electron microscope showed that the neurons in the acupuncture and medication groups were less damaged than those in the model group

the cells showed mild edema

and the structures were relatively complete. Some normal organelles could be seen

and autophagy bodies

autophagy lysosomes and their encapsulated organelles could still be observed. Conclusion Acupuncture can improve the neurological deficit and reduce the area of cerebral infarction in CI/RI rats

which is closely with its effect in promoting hippocampal neuronal autophagy and anti-apoptosis via up-regulating the expression of miR-34 c-5 p.