Acupuncture on “Huantiao” (GB30) and "Yanglingquan" (GB34) acupoints promotes nerve regeneration in mice model of peripheral nerve injury

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on promoting nerve regeneration in mice with sciatic nerve crushed injury, an animal model of peripheral nerve injury (PNI). METHODS: Acupuncture was performed on the "Huantiao" (GB30) and "Yanglingquan" (GB34) acupoints in PNI mice model for 2 weeks. Gait analysis, toe spreading test, electrophysiological test, toluidine blue staining and immunostaining of myelin basic protein (MBP), neurofilament-200 (NF200), p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)), and growth associated protein-43 (GAP43) were respectively performed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on crushed sciatic nerve. RESULTS: Acupuncture stimulation of “Huantiao” (GB30) and "Yanglingquan" (GB34) acupoints promoted the recovery of motor function and electrophysiological function in PNI mice model, which was indicated by a better gait level, toe spreading level and CMAP value in acupuncture group. The number of myelinated nerve fibers and the fluorescence intensity of MBP, NF200, p75(NTR) and GAP43 staining demonstrated that the acupuncture stimulation promoted the regeneration of injured nerves in PNI mice model. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture significantly promoted the functional and morphological recovery of crushed sciatic nerve via promoting the expression of p75(NTR) in Schwann cells.