Effect of acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning on cell apoptosis and correlative gene expression in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

AIM: To explore the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning on cell apoptosis and hsp70 mRNA in rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.METHODS: We used differentiating acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning between groups and compared acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning with ischemic preconditioning. The rats under study were divided into normal control group, pseudo-surgical group, ischemia/reperfusion group, ischemia preconditioning group, daily acupuncture preconditioning group, daily electroacupuncture preconditioning group, daily moxibustion preconditioning group, twice daily acupuncture preconditioning group, twice daily electroacupuncture preconditioning group, and twice daily moxibustion preconditioning group. RESULTS: Acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning increased hsp70 mRNA expression and reduced cell apoptosis. Twice daily acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning groups achieved better effects than ischemic preconditioning. CONCLUSION: Twice daily acupuncture and moxibustion preconditioning is more effective in preventing myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.