Abstract: Electroacupuncture has been shown to improve cerebral blood ?ow in animal models of stroke. However, it is unclear whether electroacupuncture alters miRNA expression in the cortex. In this study, we examined changes in the cerebral cortical miRNA profle, cerebral blood ?ow and neurological function induced by electroacupuncture in a rat model of stroke. Electroacupuncture was performed at Renzhong (GV26) and Neiguan (PC6), with a frequency of 2 Hz, continuous wave, current intensity of 3.0 mA, and stimulation time of 1 minute. Electroacupuncture increased cerebral blood ?ow and alleviated neurological impairment in the rats. miRNA microarray profling revealed that the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway, which links cell proliferation with stroke, was most signifcantly affected by electroacupuncture. Electroacupuncture induced changes in expression of rno-miR-206-3p, rno-miR-3473, rno-miR-6216 and rno-miR- 494-3p, and these changes were confrmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Our fndings suggest that changes in cell proliferation-associated miRNA expression induced by electroacupuncture might be associated with the improved cerebral blood supply and functional recovery following stroke.

Key words: nerve regeneration, stroke, middle cerebral artery occlusion, electroacupuncture, miRNA, cerebral blood ?ow, Neiguan (PC6), Renzhong (GV26), neural regeneration