Comprehensive Transcriptomic Analysis of Brain Tissues From the Infarcted Area of MCAO Rats Revealed That Acupuncture Attenuates Brain Injury via the Complement System

OBJECTIVE: This research focused on investigating acupuncture's effect on brain injury in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats and elucidating its potential mechanisms, with a focus on transcriptomic and protein-level changes related to the complement system, which may be involved in acupuncture's therapeutic effects. METHODS: An MCAO rat model was established and treated with acupuncture. Brain tissue from the infarct area was analyzed through RNA sequencing, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses, followed by qRT-PCR and western blot validation of key complement-related genes. RESULTS: A total of 1792 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the MCAO and acupuncture groups. Of these, 254 hub genes were associated with acupuncture's therapeutic effects. Seven complement-related genes (C1QA, C1QB, C1QC, C2, C6, C7, and TREM2) were significantly downregulated by acupuncture. Functional enrichment revealed that these genes were involved in the inflammatory response, coagulation cascades, blood‒brain barrier regulation, and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that acupuncture alleviates stroke-induced brain injury by modulating key components of the complement system and associated inflammatory pathways. These results provide mechanistic insights supporting the use of acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy for poststroke neuroinflammation.