Abstract:
Acupuncture at Lianquan (CV23) acupoint has been shown to improve swallowing function in poststroke dysphagia (PSD). This improvement is supposed to be associated with the regulation of neuronal activity in the contralateral primary motor cortex (M1), while the underlying mechanism still needs to be elucidated. Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are well-known to be involved in the regulation of neuronal activity. Thus, we here aimed to detect the role of PNNs in the contralateral M1 hemisphere in the electroacupuncture (EA)-mediated effect in male mice. The results were obtained from a combination of methods, including in vitro slice electrophysiological recording, in vivo electrophysiological recording, and immunofluorescent staining in male mice. These results showed a decrease of the excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) and no alteration of the inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) in the GABAergic neurons and the tonic inhibition in the excitatory neurons in the contralateral M1 after stroke induction, and EA recovered the impaired sEPSCs in the GABAergic neurons. We further found that the effect of EA-induced increase of c-Fos expression, enhancement of spike firing, potentiation of sEPSCs in the excitatory neurons, and improvement of swallowing function were all blocked by the removal of PNNs in the contralateral M1. In conclusion, the PNNs in the contralateral M1 was suggested to be participated in stroke pathogenesis and might be associated with the EA-mediated swallowing function rehabilitation of PSD in male mice. Our study provides insight into how PNNs might be involved in the mechanism of EA treatment for stroke rehabilitation.
摘要:
针刺连泉(CV23)穴位已被证明可以改善中风后吞咽困难(PSD)的吞咽功能。这种改善应该与对侧初级运动皮层(M1)中神经元活动的调节有关,而潜在的机制仍需阐明。众所周知,神经周网(PNN)参与神经元活动的调节。因此,我们在此旨在检测PNN在对侧M1半球在电针(EA)介导的雄性小鼠效应中的作用。结果是从多种方法的组合中获得的,包括体外切片电生理记录,体内电生理记录,和雄性小鼠的免疫荧光染色。这些结果表明,在中风诱导后,GABA能神经元中的兴奋性突触后电流(sEPSCs)降低,抑制性突触后电流(sIPSCs)没有改变,对侧M1兴奋性神经元的强直抑制,EA恢复了GABA能神经元中受损的sEPSCs。我们进一步发现,EA诱导的c-Fos表达增加的影响,增强尖峰发射,sEPSCs在兴奋性神经元中的增强,和吞咽功能的改善都被对侧M1中PNN的去除所阻断。总之,提示对侧M1中的PNN参与了卒中的发病机制,并且可能与EA介导的PSD的吞咽功能恢复相关.我们的研究提供了有关PNN如何参与EA治疗中风康复的机制的见解。