Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2025
03:26
Author Spotlight: Improving Anesthesia Protocols for Enhanced Mouse Acupuncture Research
Published on: December 8, 2023
1.3K
Electroacupuncture modulates gut microbiota in mice: A potential target in postoperative cognitive dysfunction.
Binbin Zhu1, Yanling Zhou1, Weijian Zhou1
1The Department of Radiology and Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.
Anatomical Record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)
|September 12, 2022
Summary
Electroacupuncture (EA) improves postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in mice by rebalancing gut microbiota, reducing neuroinflammation, and protecting the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This suggests EA as a potential therapeutic target for POCD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
- Integrative Medicine
Background:
- Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) mechanisms, particularly neuroinflammation and gut dysbiosis, remain incompletely understood.
- Alzheimer's disease models exhibit altered gut microbiota, suggesting a gut-brain axis involvement in cognitive impairment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if electroacupuncture (EA) ameliorates POCD in APP/PS1 mice by modulating gut microbial dysbiosis.
- To explore the impact of EA on cognitive function, hippocampal inflammation, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity.
Main Methods:
- APP/PS1 mice underwent appendectomy with or without EA treatment at specific acupoints (ST36, LI11, GV20, GV14).
- Cognitive function was assessed using novel object recognition and Morris water maze tests.
- Hippocampal and fecal samples were analyzed for inflammation and gut microbiota composition (16S rRNA sequencing).
Main Results:
- EA treatment significantly improved learning and memory in APP/PS1 mice post-surgery.
- EA modulated gut microbiota, increasing beneficial genera like Coprococcus and Bacteroidetes while decreasing harmful ones.
- EA mitigated BBB impairment, reduced glial cell activation in the hippocampus, and normalized serum diamine oxidase levels.
Conclusions:
- EA alleviates POCD in APP/PS1 mice by upregulating beneficial gut microbiota, reducing hippocampal inflammation, and restoring BBB integrity.
- Modulation of the gut-brain axis via EA presents a promising therapeutic strategy for managing POCD.
