桂枝加葛根汤联合电针对神经根型颈椎病模型大鼠的影响OA

Objective:To investigate the effects of Guizhi Plus Gegen Decoction(GJD)combined with electroacupuncture(EA)on inflammatory pain and neuronal pyroptosis in rats with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy(CSR).Methods:A CSR rat model was established using the fish wire compression method.The rats were divided into the following groups(n=12 per group):model,EA,GJD,EA+GJD,NA(NLRP3 activator),NA+EA+GJD,and a sham group without mod-eling.The mechanical pain threshold and Gait score were assessed.Serum levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were measured by ELISA.Pathological changes in the cervical spinal cord were observed via HE staining.The protein and mRNA expression levels of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3),Cleaved-Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-3,and the Gasdermin D(GSDMD)cleavage fragment(GSDMD-N)and apoptosis cell were detected by Western Blot,immunoflu-orescence,and qRT-PCR,respectively.Results:Compared with the model group,the EA,GJD,and EA+GJD groups showed a significant decrease in mechanical pain threshold,Gait score and apoptosis cells(P＜0.05),significantly reduced levels of IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α(P＜0.05),and significantly down-regulated protein/mRNA expression of NLRP3,Cleaved-Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-3,and GSDMD-N(P＜0.05).Furthermore,the improvement in the EA+GJD group was superior to that in the individual intervention groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion:The combination of EA and GJD significantly alleviates inflammation and pain in the cervical spinal cord and inhibits neuronal pyroptosis in CSR model rats.