Conclusion
EA could improve obesity in HFDI rats with IR via its anorectic effect. This effect targeted posttranscriptional regulation of the SIRT1 gene, which induced upregulation of ARC FOXO1 deacetylation and mediated the gene expression of POMC and NPY.
Methods
We divided 60 rats into 6 groups. All interventions, including EA and intracerebroventricular administration, were performed after 8 weeks of model establishment. We tested obesity phenotypes like body weight (BW) gain; food intake; and IR levels including glucose infusion rate, intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test (IPITT), and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) during treatment. We detected protein expression and microscopic locations in hypothalamic SIRT1, the transcription factor FOXO1 (forkhead box protein O1), acetylated FOXO1 (Ac-FOXO1), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), and neuropeptide Y (NPY) via Western blotting and immunofluorescence, and monitored gene expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
Objective
To investigate the anorexigenic and anti-obesity effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) on high-fat-diet-induced (HFDI) obese rats with insulin resistance (IR) and to reveal the possible mechanisms of EA affecting SIRT1 (silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1) in the central nervous system (CNS).
Results
Like the SIRT1 agonist, EA suppressed BW gain and IR levels in obese rats, but this was only partially blocked by the SIRT1 antagonist. EA could upregulate protein expression of hypothalamic SIRT1 and downregulate the acetylation level of FOXO1 in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), which decreased gene expression of NPY and increased that of POMC. The agonist targeted the hypothalamic SIRT1 gene, unlike EA, which targeted posttranscriptional regulation.