Proteomics Revealed Key Molecules Involved in Protecting Sciatic Nerve Injury in Athletes Treated with Fire Needle Acupuncture

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of fire needle acupuncture on sciatic nerve repair in athletes using a rat model of sciatic nerve injury, with a focus on proteomics to identify key molecular mechanisms involved in the treatment process.

Methods: We utilized hematoxylin-eosin staining to characterize sciatic nerve repair and employed tandem mass tagging (TMT) to profile differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) following fire needle acupuncture treatment. We conducted Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis to predict the functions of these proteins. Additionally, parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) validated the expression of specific up-regulated proteins.

Results: In the sciatic nerve tissues of rats treated with fire needle acupuncture, 32 significant DEPs were identified (21 up-regulated and 11 down-regulated), contrasting with 1083 significant DEPs in the model group (555 up-regulated and 528 down-regulated) compared to the sham-operated group. PRM validated the expression of two proteins (Ftl1 and an unnamed protein) up-regulated in fire needle-treated rats compared with model rats, and nine proteins (Tnc, Ftl1, Stat3, Usp39, Hdac1, Hdac2, Akt1, Prpf6, and an unnamed protein) up-regulated in the model group. The findings were consistent with those of the TMT analysis.

Conclusion: Proteomic analyses reveal that fire needle acupuncture may modulate specific molecular pathways involved in sciatic nerve repair, highlighting its potential therapeutic application in athlete populations suffering from similar injuries. The identified proteins could serve as targets for enhancing the efficacy of treatments for sciatic nerve injuries in athletes, aiding in faster recovery and return to competition