The influences of eye acupuncture on the expression of FADD in rat's brain after acute cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Objective To evaluate effects of eye acupuncture on the expression of TLR4 protein in rat's brain cortex after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury(CIRI) and probe into the mechanisms.Methods Adult male SPF Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal,sham operation,CIRI model and eye acupuncture groups,15 rats in every group.The model of middle cerebral artery occlusion(MACO) was established by the improved suture method.RT-PCR and immunohistochemical method were performed to examine the mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 in the ischemic brain cortex.Results The mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 in CIRI model group were increased significantly(P0.01) compared with those in normal and sham operation groups,and which were decreased significantly(P0.05) than those in eye acupuncture group.Conclusions Eye acupuncture therapy can reduce the expression of TLR4 in CIRI,which may be the major mechanism for CIRI treatment.