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Preproenkephalin mRNA enhanced by combination of droperidol with electroacupuncture
Aim:
To study the expression of preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA following electroacupuncture (EA) combined with droperidol (Dro), an antagonist of dopamine receptors.
Method:
The brains of Sprague-Dawley rats were sectioned after combination of EA with Dro and nonradioactive in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH) technic was used.
Results:
Ten hours after EA, the expression of PPE mRNA was enhanced; when EA was combined with Dro, the expression of PPE mRNA was further enhanced in many pain-modulation-related nuclei, such as caudate-putamen, accumbens, septal nucleus, diagonal band nucleus, amygdala, hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray (PAG), interpeduncular nucleus, substantia nigra, and the dorsal horn of spinal cord (layer I-II and III-IV).
Conclusion:
Dro promoted EA's action on the PPE mRNA expression, which underlie the mechanisms of Dro potentiation on acupuncture analgesia.