Research Article

Spinal Cord Glycine Transporter 2 Mediates Bilateral ST35 Acupoints Sensitization in Rats with Knee Osteoarthritis

Figure 7

Ipsilateral downregulation of GlyT2 by GlyT2-shRNA attenuated ST35 acupoint sensitization in KOA rats. (a) Schematic diagram for the time frame of the experiment. (b) Representative image of GlyT2-shRNA expression in the L3-L5 ipsilateral spinal cord dorsal horn. The scale bar is 500 μm. ((c) and (d)) Western blot analysis for the expression of GlyT2 at 21 days after GlyT2-shRNA injection in wild-type rats and unilateral KOA rats, respectively. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used. P < 0.001 versus Control-shRNA-L group; n = 4 per group. (d) Western blot analysis for the expression of GlyT2 at 21 days after GlyT2-shRNA injection in unilateral KOA rats. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used. P < 0.001 versus Control-shRNA-L group; n = 4 per group. (e) The concentration of glycine in the spinal dorsal horn detected by microdialysis after GlyT2-shRNA injection. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used. P < 0.05 versus Control-shRNA-L group; #P < 0.05 versus Control-shRNA-R group; n = 6 per group. (f-h) Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold at bilateral ST35, GB37 and nonacupoint area, respectively. Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc test was used. P < 0.01, P < 0.001 versus Control-shRNA -L group; #P < 0.05 versus Control-shRNA-R group; n = 8 per group. ((i) and (j)) The total number of mast cells and the percentages of degranulated mast cells in all groups. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used. P < 0.05 versus MIA+NS-L group; #P < 0.05 versus MIA+NS-R group; n = 6 per group. All data are presented as the mean ± SEM.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)