Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Exerts Antiinflammatory Effects and Immune Regulatory Function in a 6-OHDA Model of Parkinson's Disease

According to epidemiologic studies, smoking appears to downregulate the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD), possibly due to antiinflammatory mechanisms via activation of 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (7 nAChRs). This receptor also appears to play a role in T-cell differentiation. Recently, it has become apparent that the innate immune system participates in PD pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of auricular vagus nerve stimulation (aVNS) on substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neurodegeneration and the associated neuroinflammation and immune responses in a rat PD model. Adult male Wistar rats were unilaterally administered 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to the medial forebrain bundle, followed by aVNS treatment after surgery. Following motor behavioral tests, the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the SN and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the ventral midbrain were evaluated. In addition, changes in the trends of subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the SN were measured by immunofluorescence staining. Western blotting was used to evaluate the 7 nAChR protein level. Compared with 6-OHDA treats rats, aVNS treatment significantly improved motor deficits, increased TH and 7 nAChR expression, and reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-) and interleukin-1 (IL-1)) (p

根据流行病学研究，吸烟似乎会降低帕金森病（PD）的患病率，这可能是由于通过激活α7烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体（α7 nAChRs）产生的抗炎机制。这种受体似乎在T细胞分化中也起作用。最近，很明显先天免疫系统参与了帕金森病的发病机制。本研究的目的是评估耳迷走神经刺激（aVNS）对大鼠帕金森病模型中黑质（SN）多巴胺能神经变性以及相关神经炎症和免疫反应的影响。成年雄性Wistar大鼠单侧给予中脑前束6 - 羟基多巴胺（6 - OHDA），术后进行aVNS治疗。在进行运动行为测试后，评估黑质中酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）的表达以及腹中脑炎症细胞因子的水平。此外，通过免疫荧光染色测量黑质中CD4 + T淋巴细胞亚群的变化趋势。采用蛋白质印迹法评估α7 nAChR蛋白水平。与6 - OHDA处理的大鼠相比，aVNS治疗显著改善了运动功能障碍，增加了TH和α7 nAChR的表达，并降低了炎症细胞因子（肿瘤坏死因子 - α（TNF - α）和白细胞介素 - 1（IL - 1））的水平（p<...（此处原文似乎不完整）