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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Movement Disorders

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1622602

Chinese Massage Therapy (Tuina) Inhibits Motor Neuron Apoptosis in Rats with Sciatic Nerve Injury by Regulating the cPLA2 and RhoA/ROCK2 Signaling Pathways

Provisionally accepted
Jiawei SunJiawei Sun1Yingqi ZhangYingqi Zhang1Zhifeng LiuZhifeng Liu1,2Hanyu ZhangHanyu Zhang1Jiayue LiuJiayue Liu1Yue XuYue Xu1Rentuya NaRentuya Na1Hongzheng ZhangHongzheng Zhang1Jiawang YanJiawang Yan1Tianyuan YuTianyuan Yu1*
  • 1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
  • 2Department of Tuina and Pain Management, Dongzhimen Hospital, beijing, China

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Abstract Objective: To investigate whether Tuina therapy alleviated inflammation and motor neuron apoptosis in sciatic nerve injury (SNI) rats by regulating cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and Ras homolog family member A/Rho-associated coiled-coil comprising protein kinase 2 (RhoA/ROCK2) signaling cascades. Results: The TUI cohort showed better BBB scores and CatWalk results than the SNI cohort (all P < 0.001). Histological analysis revealed diminished inflammatory cell infiltration and increased neuronal survival. NeuN immunofluorescence indicated decreased motor neuron apoptosis in the anterior horn of the SC. Tuina therapy reversed TNF-α, IL-6, and aquaporin-4 levels (P < 0.01). The TUI cohort had lower mRNA expression of Bax, cPLA2, and ROCK2 (all P<0.001), mRNA expression of RhoA (P < 0.01), and Bax, cPLA2, p-cPLA2, and RhoA/ROCK2 levels (all P < 0.001) than the SNI cohort. Conversely, mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl2 were higher in the TUI cohort than in the SNI cohort (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: Tuina therapy improved motor function in SNI rats by inhibiting motor neuron apoptosis via cPLA2 regulation, potentially via the RhoA/ROCK2 signaling pathway. Trial registration： Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable.

Keywords: peripheral nerve injury, Tuina, Apoptosis, Inflammatory Response, CPLA2, RhoA/ROCK2 pathway

Received: 04 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Zhang, Liu, Zhang, Liu, Xu, Na, Zhang, Yan and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Tianyuan Yu, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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