Electroacupuncture reduces scopolamine-induced amnesia via mediating the miR-210/SIN3A and miR-183/SIN3A signaling pathway

BACKGROUND: The expression of SIN3A is closely correlated with electroacupuncture (EA) treatment efficacy of scopolamine-induced amnesia (SIA), but its underlying mechanisms remain to be further explored. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to analyze the expression of candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) and SIN3A mRNA in a rat model of SIA. Western blot was carried out to evaluate the differential expression of SIN3A proteins under different circumstances. Luciferase assay was used to explore the inhibitory role of certain miRNAs in SIN3A expression. A novel object recognition (NOR) test was performed to assess the memory function of SIA rats undergoing EA treatment. Immunohistochemistry was carried out to evaluate the expression of SIN3A in the hippocampus of SIA rats. RESULTS: Rno-miR-183-5p, rno-miR-34c-3p and rno-miR-210-3p were significantly up-regulated in SIA rats treated with EA. In addition, rno-miR-183-5p and rno-miR-210-3p exerted an inhibitory effect on SIN3A expression. EA treatment of SIA rats effectively restored the dysregulated expression of rno-miR-183-5p, rno-miR-210-3p and SIN3A. EA treatment also promoted the inhibited expression of neuronal IEGs including Arc, Egr1, Homer1 and Narp in the hippocampus of SIA rats. Accordingly, the NOR test also confirmed the effect of EA treatment on the improvement of memory in SIA rats. CONCLUSION: In summary, the findings of this study demonstrated that scopolamine-induced amnesia was associated with downregulated expression of miR-210/miR-183 and upregulated expression of SIN3A. Furthermore, treatment with EA alleviated scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats and was associated with upregulated expression of miR-210/miR-183 and downregulated expression of SIN3A.