Proteomic analysis of serum proteins in acute ischemic stroke patients treated with acupuncture

Abstract

In the present study, we have investigated the effects of acupuncture on (1) serum protein expression that might have a beneficial effect on stroke patients and (2) the strength of limb muscles in stroke patients. A total of 35 acute ischemic stroke (IS) patients were divided into two groups, one receiving drug treatment alone and the other receiving electroacupuncture (EA) and drug treatment. EA treatment was performed on eight acupuncture points once a day for 10 consecutive days. Serum proteins were detected using a proteomics method based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and the specificity of proteins was confirmed by Western blotting. Changes of limb muscle strength were measured using a modified Medical Research Council grading scale. After EA, SerpinG1 protein expression in serum was down-regulated while the expressions of gelsolin, complement component I, C3, C4B and beta-2-glycoprotein I proteins were up-regulated in patients. The changes of serum protein expression were further confirmed by Western blotting in a majority of the cases. The muscle strength of limbs was increased after EA in 18 patients. EA appears to be effective in regulating differential expression of multiple serum proteins involved in stroke, and also in enhancement of muscle strength recovery in acute IS patients despite an individual variation.

Collectins, C3 complement protein, annexin V and C-reactive protein in acute ischemic stroke: interrelation and implication to upregulated apoptosis and inflammation

“…Interestingly, recent study indicated that elevated MBL levels could be considered as an independent stroke risk factor in Chinese population [46] . The elevated blood levels of C3 complement protein in IS patients have been reported earlier by us [47] , as well as by other research groups [48][49][50][51][52] . However, this is the first study demonstrated the increased hemolytic activity of C3 in the blood of IS-affected subjects.…”

Understanding Acupuncture Based on ZHENG Classification from System Perspective

“…Omics studies on the acupuncture effects on Parkinson's disease [21, 22, 25, 26], rhinitis [24, 27], osteoarthritis [28], spinal injury [29, 30], pain [18, 19, 23, 25], aging [31, 32], ischemia (ischemic stroke) [33, 34], parturition [35] functional dyspepsia [36, 37], and so forth indicated that the mechanism of acupuncture is involved in the regulation of many body systems and is mainly associated with NEI system (Figure 1). The nerve, endocrine, and immune systems are distributed over the body widely.…”

Systems Biology of Meridians, Acupoints, and Chinese Herbs in Disease

“…EA efficacy has been studied by comparing levels of serum proteins in response to EA or drug treatments in acute ischemic stroke patients [11]. Patients were treated with EA at eight acupoints (MS6, BL10, GB20, LI4, PC6, B40, SP6, and ST36) once daily for ten consecutive days.…”

“…We found that the ST36 acupoint is the most widely used acupoints, and that it has multiple therapeutic functions and targets, including spinal cord injury [46], allergic rhinitis [56], analgesia [38], neuropathic pain [9, 47], antiaging [41], knee osteoarthritis [45], and acute ischemic stroke [11]. Different from other therapies, acupuncture treatments show variation in the transcriptional profiles and perceived effect of their subjects, whether rats [39] or humans [40].…”

“…Recent studies have found that electroacupuncture (EA) improved the pathology of motor disorders in a Parkinsonian rat model by restoring homeostasis in the basal ganglia circuit [7, 8]. In other reports, the effects of EA treatment on neuropathic pain [9], acute spinal cord injury [10], acute ischemic stroke [11], and reducing inflammation [12, 13] were also rigorously studied. We review the relevant literature below and have depicted the human acupoints described in this paper in Figure 1.…”