Acupuncture as a multifunctional neuroprotective therapy ameliorates cognitive impairment

We used an iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS strategy to unravel underlying mechanism of acupuncture at the protein levels. Wistar rats were subjected to vascular dementia with bilateral common carotid occlusion. Acupuncture was intervened for 2 weeks at 3 days after surgery. We found that acupuncture at proper acupoints significantly improved cognitive function examined by Morris water maze. At the end of the behavior experiment, proteins were screened by quantitative proteomics. A total of 221 quantified proteins were considered differentially expressed, with 31 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified appearing simultaneously in the two comparisons (2VO group vs. Sham group and Acu group vs. 2VO group).