Electroacupuncture Relieves Visceral Hypersensitivity by Inactivating Protease-Activated Receptor 2 in a Rat Model of Postinfectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Figure 5

EA alleviates VH through decreased expression of activated CGRP in colon tissue. (a) Confocal images of colon tissues isolated from rats in the five experimental groups and stained using anti-CGRP (green); scale bar, 10 μm. (b) CGRP mRNA expression as determined by RT-PCR. Expression was normalized to GAPDH. Each bar graph represents tissues pooled from three rats (n = 2 experiments for all five groups). (c) The western blot of CGRP expression from colon tissues. (d) Quantification of CGRP expression as determined by western blot, normalized to GAPDH expression. Each bar graph represents tissues pooled from three rats (n = 2 experiments for all five groups). Data in (b) and (d) were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple-comparison test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM.

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