Xiaochun Yu
Deputy Director, Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion China
Title: Anti-arrhythmic effect of acupuncture pretreatment in the rats subjected to simulative global ischemia and reperfusion—involvement of intracellular calcium and connexin 43
Biography
Biography: Xiaochun Yu
Abstract
Our previous study showed that the cardiac arrhythmias induced by myocardial ischemia and reperfusion were attenuated by the pretreatment of acupuncture. The present study explored further, whether intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and connexin 43 (Cx43) are involved in the mediation of the anti-arrhythmic effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) pretreatment in the rats subjected to simulative global ischemia and reperfusion (SGIR). SGIR was made in the isolated heart by a low flow perfusion followed by restoration of the flow to the control level. Adult rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, namely, normal control group, SGIR group, EA group and EA plus 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (EAG) group. For EA pretreatment, bilateral Neiguan acupoints (PC6) of the rats were stimulated for 30 min, once a day for 3 consecutive days. Cx43 antagonist was given to the rats in EAG group 30 minutes before the pretreatment of EA. The resting [Ca2+]i concentration, calcium oscillation, the contents of total Cx43 and non-phosphrylated Cx43, and arrhythmia score were compared among different groups. The results showed that EA pretreatment could produce anti-arrhythmic effect in the rats subjected to SGIR. The anti-arrhythmic effect of EA pretreatment may be due at least partly to the inhibition of SGIR-induced calcium overload and [Ca2+]i oscillations, reduction of non-phosphorylated Cx43 and the enhancement of the corresponding phosphorylated Cx43 in the cardiac cells.