| Abstract: | Insulin resistance(IR) is the common pathologic basis of IRrelated diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.Acupuncture is proved to be effective in treating IR-related diseases.We intervened IR in early stage and observed the effects of "the Combination of Biao-Ben Acupoints" electroacupuncture(EA) therapy on IR and the expression ofSIRT1 and GLUT4 protein in quadriceps femoris of high-fatdiet-induced IR rats.IR models were caused by high-fat diet in forty Wistar rats.Eight rats in the normal control group, others were divided randomly into the model control group and EA group(n=8)(needling at ST36, CV4, CV12 and ST40 with low frequency EA of 3 Hz).After EA intervention for six weeks,glucose homeostasis by ip glucose tolerance testing(IPGTT)and insulin tolerance testing(IPITT) was examined respectively.Body weight(BW), fasting blood-glucose(FBG) and postprandial blood-glucose(PBG) were measured respectively every two weeks.After EA intervention for eight weeks, the expression of SIRT1 in the quadriceps femoris was tested by Western blotting and GLUT4 by immunohistochemical method.Compared with the normal group, the expression of SIRT1 and concentration of GLUT4 in the quadriceps femoris decreased significantly in IR rats.IPITT impaired insulin intolerance.BW increased and FBG or PPG of IR rats showed no difference.Compared with the model control group, after EA intervention SIRT1 and GLUT4 increased significantly(P0.01, P0.05), IPITT improved the impaired insulin intolerance, and BW decreased obviously(P0.05).EA intervention had no obvious effect on the stable FBG or PBG levels of IR rats."The Combination Of Biao-Ben Acupoints" EA can stimulate the expression of proteins SIRT1 and GLUT4 in the quadriceps femoris of IR rats, decrease BW and improve insulin sensitivity, which may be one of the important mechanisms of EA in alleviating insulin resistance. |
