The cortical and striatal gene expression profile of 100 Hz electroacupuncture treatment in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced Parkinson's disease model

Electroacupuncture (EA), especially high-frequency EA, has frequently been used as an alternative therapy for Parkinson disease (PD) and is reportedly effective for alleviating motor symptoms in patients and PD models. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its effectiveness is not completely understood. To implement a full-scale search for the targets of 100 Hz EA, we selected rat models treated with 6-hydroxydopamine into the unilateral MFB, which mimic end-stage PD. High-throughput microarray analysis was then used to uncover the regulated targets in the cortex and striatum after 4-week EA treatment. In the differentially regulated transcripts, the proportion of recovered expression profiles in the genes, the functional categories of targets in different profiles, and the affected pathways were analyzed. Our results suggested that the recovery of homeostasis in the transcript network and many regulated functional clusters in the cortex and striatum after EA treatment may contribute to the behavioral improvement of PD rats.