Abstract:Objective To investigate the protective mechanism of electroacupuncture combined with enriched rehabilitation training against acute nerve injury in rats with cerebral ischemia. Methods A total of 15 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly selected as sham-operation group, and 60 rats used to establish a model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) were randomly divided into model group, electroacupuncture group, enriched rehabilitation training group (rehabilitation group), and electroacupuncture+enriched rehabilitation training group (combination group), with 15 rats in each group. The rats in the sham-operation group and the model group were not given any intervention; the rats in the electroacupuncture group and the combination group were given electroacupuncture at Baihui and Dazhui; the rats in the rehabilitation group and the combination group were given enriched environmental and rehabilitation training for 30 minutes each time, once a day for 3 consecutive days. The dynamic changes of cerebral blood flow, histomorphology, and apoptosis rate in the ischemic cortex were observed, and then the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was measured. RT-PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression levels of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Caspase-3,and Caspase-9. Results Grouping factors had a statistically significant main effect on the levels of MDA and SOD in ischemic cortex and the mRNA expression levels of SIRT1,PGC-1α,Caspase-3,Caspase-9,and Bcl-2 (P<0.05). Compared with the sham-operation group,the model group had significant reductions in cerebral blood flow,the level of SOD, and mRNA expression levels of SIRT1, PGC-1α,and Bcl-2 (P<0.05) and significant increases in apoptosis rate, the level of MDA, and mRNA expression levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the treatment groups had significant increases in the level of SOD and mRNA expression levels of SIRT1, PGC-1α, and Bcl-2 (P<0.05) and significant reductions in the level of MDA and mRNA expression levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the above indices between the combination group and the electroacupuncture group or rehabilitation group (P<0.05). Electroacupuncture combined with enriched rehabilitation training had synergistic interaction on the levels of MDA, SOD and mRNA expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α (P<0.05), but had no interaction on mRNA expression levels of Caspase-3,Caspase-9 and Bcl-2 (P >0.05). Conclusion Electroacupuncture combined with enriched rehabilitation training can improve antioxidant capacity,alleviate nerve cell injury,and exert a neuroprotective effect by regulating the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway.