ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1627276
Effect of electroacupuncture on motor and sensory functions of lower limbs and GABA receptor in spinal cord of neuropathic pain rats
Provisionally accepted
Shujie Wang1
Ye Zhou1
Shiyan Wang1
Hang Yang1
Zhenzhen Gao1
Mengye Zhang1Bing Gu1Ying Xinwang2Yueqin Gu1*- 1First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Wenzhou Medical University, wenzhou, China
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Purpose: To explore the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at ST36 (Zusanli) and BL60 (Kunlun) on improving hyperalgesia and lower-limb motor function of the rat model with lumbar 5 (L5) spinal nerve ligation (SNL), as well as the effects on the microglial cells, BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway activation, and GABAA receptor in model rats' spinal cord dorsal horn. Methods: Adult male Sprague Dawley rats (180-220 g) were randomly assigned to the sham SNL group, the SNL group, the SNL plus EA group, and the SNL plus sham EA group. The concentration variation of Iba-1, BDNF, TrkB, and GABAA α2 in the rat spinal cord was identified using western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. Results: After 7 days of intervention, the pain threshold of the SNL plus EA group significantly increased versus the SNL group with a higher motor dysfunction score. Moreover, the SNL plus EA group had significantly reduced Iba-1, BDNF, and TrkB while elevated GABAA α2 protein expression versus the SNL group (P < 0.05). Likewise, the mRNA expression of Iba-1, BDNF, and TrkB was decreased while GABAA α2 mRNA expression was increased in the SNL plus EA group versus in the SNL group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: EA at ST36 and BL60 can improve the neuropathic pain rat model's hyperalgesia and lower-limb motor function. The analgesic effects were achieved by increasing the GABAA α2 receptor expression in the spinal cord of NP rats and promoting GABA's suppression of pain signal transmission via inhibiting the microglia activation and the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway.
Keywords: Electroacupuncture, neuropathic pain, BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway, GABAA receptor α2, Motor and sensory functions
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhou, Wang, Yang, Gao, Zhang, Gu, Xinwang and Gu. 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: Yueqin Gu, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
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