Molecular Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Regulating Cerebral Arterial Contractile Protein in Rats with Cerebral Infarction Based on MLCK Pathway

Objective To explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) intervention on the vasoconstriction of cerebral artery smooth muscle cells after cerebral infarction. Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups by a random number table: the model group ( n =24), the EA group ( n =24), and the normal group ( n =6). The model and the EA groups were divided into different time subgroups at 0.5, 1, 3, and 6 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), with 6 rats in each subgroup. MCAO model was established using intraluminal suture occlusion method. The EA group was given EA treatment at acupoint Shuigou (GV 26) instantly after MCAO for 20 min. The contents of cerebrovascular smooth muscle MLCK, the 3 subunits of myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) MYPT1, PP1c-δ and M20, as well as myosin-ATPase activity were detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results The overall expression level of the MYPT1 and PP1c-δ in the model group was significantly higher ( P 0.05), and the other subgroups were still significantly higher than the normal group ( P