| Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture treatment on 5-HT 1a and 5-HT 2a mRNA expression in hypothalamus of insomnia rats and to explore the effect of acupuncture on insomnia and investigate whether acupuncture acupoints at different meridians are the key factor to determine the difference of acupoints synergy effect. Methods: Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, including blank group, model group, Baihui + Shenmen group, Baihui + Sanyinjiao group, Baihui + non-acupoint group, with 12 rats in each group. Chlorophenylalanine suspension was injected intraperitoneally to establish insomnia model in rats. Each treatment group received acupuncture in relevant acupoints, 30 min each time, for 7 days. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of 5-HT 1a and 5-HT 2a mRNA in hypothalamus of rats. Results: As compared with the model group, the expression of 5-HT 1a in the hypothalamus of each acupuncture group increased to a certain extent and the expression of 5-HT 2a decreased to a certain extent. The curative effect of Baihui + Shenmen group was the best, followed by Baihui + Sanyinjiao group. Conclusion: The therapeutic effect of acupuncture may be performed by regulating the expression of 5-HT 1a and 5-HT 2a mRNA in the hypothalamus of insomnia model rats. Acupuncture acupoints at different meridians may be one of the factors that cause the difference in acupoints synergy effect. |
