Abstract: Effects of moxibustion pretreatment on the expression of caspase-3 protein in cortex of rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury XIAO Ai-jiao1,Kang Ming-fei2. ,Zhang Hao3 ,Gong Li-li4 (1.Department of Physiology;2. Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion; 3. Graduate student, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Nanchang,330004,China) [Abstract ]Objective To observe the effects of moxibustion pretreatment on the caspase-3 expression in cortex of rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the mechanism thereof. Methods Twenty-one male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups, sham group(n=6), model group(n=8) and moxibustion group(n=7). Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rat model was induced for 2h by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by reperfusion. Brain infarct was examined by TTC staining, brain morphology was with optical microscope, the ultrastructure of cell was observed with electron microscope, and the expression of caspase-3 protein in cortex was examined by immunofluorescence histochemistry. Results Percentages of infarct volume were significantly lower[(24.9±4.7)%] in rats of moxibustion pretreatment group than those of model group[(45.8±4.6)%], nerve cells experience less morphological and structural changes in moxibustion pretreatment group than those of model group, and caspase-3 positive cells(39.17±7.28) are lower in moxibustion pretreatment group than those of model group(58.17±16.53). Conclusion Moxibustion pretreatment could reduce the damage of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, which might be through decreasing caspase-3 expression.

Key words: moxibustion pretreatment, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, ultrastructure, caspase-3