Effects of different acupuncture manipulations on protein expression in the parietal cortex of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract Objective To analyze the effects of twirling reinforcing and reducing manipulations on protein expression in parietal cortex of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and elucidate the main mechanisms and differences between two manipulations in hypertension treatment. Methods Rats were randomly divided into the control, model, twirling reinforcing manipulation (TRFM), and twirling reducing manipulation (TRDM) groups. The control and model groups received catch and fixation stimulations once a day for 14 days. The TRFM and TRDM groups were intervened once a day for 20 min for 14 days. On days 0, 2, 6, 10, and 14 after acupuncture, rat systolic blood pressures (SBPs) were measured. Differential protein (DP) expression in the rat parietal cortices was detected. Thereafter, GO functional significance and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Results Compared with the model group, SBP of rats in the TRDM and TRFM groups decreased on days 6 and 10 of acupuncture, respectively (P = .009; P  Conclusion TRDM showed a more effective antihypertensive effect on SHRs than TRFM; this antihypertensive effect was related to the regulation of different proteins and their biological functions.