[Effect of electroacupuncture on neuronal autophagy in rats with chronic sleep deprivation via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway].

Objective: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at Fengchi (GB20) and Gongxue (Extra) on the phosphatidylinostitol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapanycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and hippocampal neuronal autophagy in rats with chronic sleep deprivation (CSD), and to explore the potential mechanisms of EA in treating CSD-related cognitive impairment. Methods: A total of 65 Wistar rats with normal cognitive function were screened, and 12 were randomly selected as the control group. The remaining rats were subjected to a modified multiple-platform water environment method to induce the CSD model. Forty-eight successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into a model group, an EA group, an activator group, and an EA+activator group, with 12 rats in each group. The EA group was treated with EA at bilateral Fengchi (GB20) and Gongxue (Extra) for 20 min, once daily. The activator group was treated with intraperitoneal injection of PI3K activator 740Y-P (0.02 mg/kg) once daily. The EA+activator group was treated with EA, followed by intraperitoneal injection of 740Y-P. All interventions lasted for 14 days. Cognitive function was assessed using the Morris water maze. Golgi staining was used to observe dendritic branching and spine density in the hippocampal CA1 region. Western blot was employed to detect protein expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K), PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, p-mTOR, mTOR, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)Ⅱ, LC3Ⅰ, and Beclin-1 in hippocampal tissues. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect positive expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 in the hippocampal CA1 region. Results: