Effect of Abdominal Massage on Hypothalamus of Insomnia Rats Based on Proteomics
摘要
Background Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that severely affects patients' quality of life and physical and mental health. Abdominal massage, as a non-pharmacological therapy, has gradually attracted attention due to its definite therapeutic effect on insomnia and its safety with no significant side effects. However, the specific mechanism of abdominal massage in treating insomnia is still not clear. Objectives We sought to scrutinise the distinctive hypothalamic protein expressions in p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) -provoked insomnia models in rats via proteomics, along with exploring the efficacy of abdominal massage in combating insomnia via behavioural analysis. Methods From March 2022 to May 2022, 18 healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with a body weight of (225±5) g were selected. The SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: the blank group, the model group, and the treatment group, with six rats in each group. Insomnia was created via intraperitoneal administration of PCPA. The blank group was untreated while the model group received no intervention. The treatment group underwent abdominal massage, once a day for 12 minutes, for seven straight days. Observations were made on animal behaviour in each group. Proteomics technology identified differential protein expressions in the hypothalamus, followed by biological information analysis for Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation and KEGG enrichment. Lastly, related differential proteins were validated by Western blotting. Results The sodium pentobarbital righting reflex test was conducted 24 hours after modeling. The results showed that compared with the blank group, the model group and the treatment group had prolonged latency to sleep and shortened sleep duration (P<0.05), indicating that the modeling was successful in both groups. After 7 days of treatment, the behavioral results showed that compared with the blank group, the model group had decreased body weight, increased spontaneous