Abstract:

Objective The research aimed to explore the effects of Electroacupuncture on osteoporosis and P53/P21 signal pathway in elderly rats. Methods Twenty⁃seven⁃month⁃old male SD rats were randomly divided into two groups：elderly group（n = 8），electroacupuncture treatment group（n = 8）. Six⁃month⁃old male SD rats were young group（n = 8）. The treatment group was treated with electroacupuncture intervention five times a week for a total of 8 weeks. All rats in each group were sacrificed at 8 weeks. The serum bone metabolism indexes（CTX⁃I， PICP）were detected by using ELISA system；Micro⁃CT scanner were performed to evaluate the microstructure of bone tissue；The expression levels of P53/P21 mRNA and protein were detected by RT⁃PCR and Western blot. Results The levels of serum CTX⁃I in elderly group were higher than the young group（P < 0.01），while PICP was lower than that in the young group（P < 0.01）. Electroacupuncture caused decrease in CTX⁃I and increase in PICP compared to the elderly group（P < 0.01）. The BMD，BV/TV，Tb.N of bone tissue in elderly group were significantly lower contrast with young group（P < 0.01），while the Tb.Sp in elderly group was significantly higher compared with young group（P < 0.01）. Compared with the elderly group，Electroacupuncture caused increase in BMD，BV/TV，Tb.N（P < 0.05）and decrease in Tb.Sp（P < 0.01）. The expressions of P53/P21 mRNA and protein in the elderly group were significantly higher than the young group（P < 0.01）. Compared with the elderly group，the expressions of P53/P21 mRNA and protein in the electroacupuncture treatment group were significantly reduced （P < 0.01）. Conclusion Electroacupuncture can effectively improve osteoporosis in elderly rats.The mechanisms may be to alleviate osteoblast aging and increase osteoblast activity by inhibiting P53/P21 signal pathway，so as to promote bone formation and reduce bone loss.

Key words:

osteoporosis, electroacupuncture, P53/P21 signal pathway, osteoblast aging