Electroacupuncture Treatment Ameliorated the Long-Term Cognitive Impairment Via Activating Enos/no Pathway and Related Aβ Downregulation in Sepsis-Survivor Mice.

Objective: Sepsis is a major challenge in intensive care unit worldwide and the septic survivors are left with long-term cognitive deficits. This work aims to explore the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on long-term cognitive function and its underlying mechanism in sepsis-survivor mice. Methods: Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture in C57BL/6 male mice. Seven days post-surgery, sepsis-survivor mice were treated with EA or nonacupoint EA for 17 days twice daily. Then, cognitive func-tion was evaluated by Morris water maze task. The hippocampus tissue were collected from the mice at 30 days post-surgery. The level of nitric oxide and the expression of endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS), phospho-eNOS (p-eNOS), and amyloid beta-peptide (A beta) were measured. Results: Compared with the sham-operated control, sepsis-survivors had significant cognitive deficits evidenced by the increased time of escape latency and reduced crossing number in Morris water maze task, as well as lower NO and p-eNOS level and higher A beta level. EA treatment at GV20 and ST36 acupoints but not at a nonacupoint improved the cognitive function, increased the NO and p-eNOS level, and decreased A beta generation; while eNOS inhibitor (L-NAME) undermined the efficacy of EA treatment. Conclusion: In conclusion, repeated EA treatment could ameliorate the long-term cognitive impairment via manipulating the expression of p-eNOS and related A beta in sepsis-survivor mice.