| Objective: To study the effect of early acupuncture on the awakening of TBI rats by regulating P2rx7 receptor in vPAG region to activate neuronal activity, promote the recovery of neuronal function in damaged brain tissue. Methods Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into Con group, Sham group, Mod group and Acu group, with 12 rats in each group. Rats in Mod group and Acu group were modeled by TBI's eCCI. Sham group only performed craniotomy without cortical impact; Rats in Con group were fed quantitatively. Behaviorally, I-VI consciousness scale, coma duration measurement and neurological deficit score were used to evaluate the degree of injury and recovery in rats. The midbrain tissue of TBI rats was taken, and the ultrastructure of neurons in vPAG area of rats in each group was observed by transmission electron microscope. In molecular biology, the expression of P2rx7 and Fos proto-oncogene (c-Fos) in midbrain tissue of rats in each group was detected by Western Blot and RT-qPCR, and analyzed. Results: In terms of behavior, compared with Mod group, Acu group showed the most obvious change in consciousness level at 12 hours, the coma duration was obviously shortened, and the neurological deficit score showed a stable trend after 24 hours(P＜0.01). In terms of histomorphology, the results of transmission electron microscope showed that the nucleus of Acu group was relatively complete, the presynaptic membrane was intact and the protein in postsynaptic dense area increased. In terms of molecular biology, Western Blot and RT-qPCR, compared with Mod group, the contents of P2rx7 and c-Fos protein in TBI rats in Acu group increased significantly (P＜0.01), the levels of P2rx7 and c-Fos protein increased significantly (P＜0.01),and the mRNA expression of P2rx7 and c-Fos increased significantly(P＜0.01),Conclusion Early acupuncture may activate P2rx7 receptor in vPAG area, improve neuronal activity and repair damaged brain area, and promote the awakening of TBI coma rats. |