Objective： To observe the effect of acupuncture on the expressions of insulin receptor β （InsR-β） mRNA and protein in the liver of experimental rats with insulin resistance （IR）. Method： Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, control group （n=8）, model group （n=8） and acupuncture group （n=8）. Rats in the control group were fed with conventional food, and the other rats were induced into insulin resistance model with high fatsugar-salt food. Once model was induced successfully, rats in the control group were fed with conventional food continually, rats in the model group were fed with high fat-sugar-salt food continually, and rats in the acupuncture group were fed with high fat-sugar-salt food, and treated with acupuncture for 2 weeks. The expression of InsR-β mRNA was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR, and the expression of InsR-β protein was detected by Western blot. Result： Expressions of InsR-β mRNA and protein in the model group were significantly lower than those in the control group （P〈0.01）, and those in the acupuncture group were higher than those in the model group （P〈0.0l, P〈0.05）. The expressions of InsR-β mRNA and protein between the acupuncture and control group had no significant difference. Conclusion： Acupuncture treatment can increase the expressions of InsR-β mRNA and protein in IR rats＇ liver to improve insulin resistance.
