Effects of electroacupuncture on the function of respiration chain in hippocampal mitochondria of SAMP8 mice

Objective To investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture in treatment of Alzheimer's disease(AD) from the perspective of mitochondria.Methods Tweleve SAMP8mice aged 8months were randomly divided into a model group(n=6)and an electroacupuncture group(n=6),and six SAMR1mice aged 8months were selected as a control group.The electroacupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at"Baihui"(GV 20),"Dazhui"(GV 14),"Shenshu"(BL 23)and"Taixi"(KI 3)for 20min,once each day,10days for a course,and lasted for 3courses.The other two groups were grasped and fixed in the same way at the same time without the other treatment.After the end of treatment,the learning and memory abilities of the mice were measured by Morris water maze,the activity of hippocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain enzyme complex was performed by spectrophotometry,and the levels of adenosine triphosphate(ATP)were detected by a re-verse-phase high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)method.Results Compared with the control group,the average escape latency significantly lengthened,the residence time on the plateau phase shortened,the activity of respiratory chain enzyme complexeⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,andⅣwas decreased,and ATP concentration was decreased in the model group.Compared with the model group,the average escape latency significantly shortened,the residence time on the plateau phase lengthened,the activity of hippocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain complexesⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,andⅣwas significantly increased,and ATP concentration was increased in the electroacupuncture group.Conclusion Electroacupuncture can increase the activity of hip-pocampal mitochondrid respiratory chain enzyme complexe and ATP concentration and improve mitochondrial function,which may be one of underlying mechanisms of electroacupuncture in treatment of AD.