Mouse Electroacupuncture Fixation Device Fabrication for Electroacupuncture Pretreatment in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Mouse Model

The scope of our research is electroacupuncture for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We present a level electroacupuncture fixation device for mice. Our mouse electroacupuncture fixation device is easier to fix in mice, safer, and does not cross secretly to mice during electroacupuncture treatment compared to other technologies. Our laboratory will continue to focus on electroacupuncture for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, diabetic cardiomyopathy, et cetera.

[Narrator] To begin, check the integrity of the hollow plastic tubing in an assembled electropuncture fixation device. Install the closure tabs. Move the closure tabs along the tube body as the screws slide in the grooves, ensuring that the fixation length can be adjusted to suit the mouse's size. Now turn on the electroacupuncture therapy instrument and ensure it is operational. Press each button once to verify its functionality. Place the electroacupuncture therapy instrument next to the hollow plastic tubes for conducting electroacupuncture treatments on mice. Then grasp a mouse by the tail with the right hand and remove it from the cage. Place the mouse on the cage surface and gently pull its tail outward. Immobilize the mouse with the left hand and flip it over to expose the abdomen. Inject the mouse intraperitoneally using the right hand with a one milliliter syringe preloaded with the appropriate amount of 1% streptozotocin solution. To perform acupuncture, first select acupoints according to the Biao Ben Acupoint Theory, including bilateral PC6 and ST36. Now grasp the mouse, pinch its tail, and place it on the cage surface. Position the mouth of the acrylic hollow plastic tube at a 30 degree angle to the horizontal plane, ensuring the small hole in the center faces the ground and the mouth of the tube aligns with the mouse's head. Slowly rotate the mouse's head into the tube using voluntary movement and a slight push. Gently pat the mouse's buttocks to encourage it to enter the tube completely. Adjust the closure tabs, then lift the mouse's tail out of the groove. Tighten the nut and use the closure tabs at the upper and lower ends to restrict the mouse's movement. Use tweezers to gently pull out the four limbs of the mouse through the small holes on each side of the tube. Once the limbs are exposed, gently secure them to the outside of the tube body. Locate the PC6 and ST36 acupoints by touching the mouse's limbs with the middle finger of the right hand. Then gently prick the mouse's skin with the sterile needle tip. Quickly insert the needle obliquely to a depth of approximately three millimeters. Then remove the right hand. Now turn on the electroacupuncture therapy machine and adjust it to intermittent wave of one hertz. Attach the energized clip of the electroacupuncture therapy machine to the needle handle, ensuring one clip per needle. Then adjust the current, with the clip attached to one milliampere. After 15 minutes, observe the state of the mice during the electroacupuncture pretreatment. The myocardial tissue in the control group exhibited an intact structure with regularly arranged cardiomyocytes, and no apparent lesions were observed. In the model group, myocardial cells were irregularly arranged, with some cells showing damage and disintegration along with significant inflammatory cell infiltration in the interstitial space. In the pretreatment group, myocardial tissue structure was clear, with a small number of damaged and disintegrated cells, but no other significant lesions. The cardiac function indices from echocardiography showed that the left ventricular end diastolic diameter and left ventricular end systolic diameter were significantly increased in the model group, while the left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening were significantly reduced. In the pretreatment group, the left ventricular end diastolic diameter and left ventricular end systolic diameter were significantly reduced, while the left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening were significantly increased compared to the model group. Blood glucose levels were significantly elevated in the model group compared to the control group on day 36. After electroacupuncture treatment, blood glucose levels in the pretreatment group were significantly reduced by day 49 compared to the model group.