摘要：
Electroacupuncture and moxibustion are traditional Chinese medicine practices that exert therapeutic effects through stimulation of specific meridian acupoints. However, the biological basis of the therapies has been difficult to establish; thus the current practices still rely on ancient TCM references. Here, we used a rat model to study perturbations in cortex, liver, and stomach metabolome and plasma hormones following electroacupuncture or moxibustion treatment on either stomach meridian or gallbladder meridian acupoints. All treatment groups, regardless of meridian and mode of treatment, showed perturbation in cortex metabolome and increased phenylalanine, tyrosine, and branched-chain amino acids in liver. In addition, electroacupuncture was found to increase ATP in cortex, creatine, and dimethylglycine in stomach and GABA in liver. On the other hand, moxibustion increased plasma enkephalin concentration, as well as betaine and fumarate concentrations in stomach. Furthermore, we had observed meridian-specific changes including increased N-acetyl-aspartate in liver and 3-hydroxybutyrate in stomach for gallbladder meridian stimulation and increased noradrenaline concentration in blood plasma following stimulation on stomach meridian. In summary, the current findings may provide insight into the metabolic basis of electroacupuncture and moxibustion, which may contribute towards new application of acupoint stimulation.
作者机构：
[Tu, Yiheng; Maleki, Nasim; Wilson, Georgia; Kong, Jian; Park, Joel] Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Dept Psychiat, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.;[Tu, Yiheng; Maleki, Nasim; Wilson, Georgia; Kong, Jian; Park, Joel] Harvard Med Sch, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.;[Fu, Zening; Calhoun, Vince] Mind Res Network, Albuquerque, NM USA.;[Zeng, Fang; Lan, Lei; Liang, Fanrong; Li, Zhengjie] Chengdu Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Teaching Hosp 3, Acupuncture & Tuina Sch, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.;[Gao, Yujie] Ningxia Med Univ, Tradit Chinese Med Sch, Yinchuan, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Kong, Jian] M;[Kong, Jian] H;[Liang, Fanrong] C;Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Dept Psychiat, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.;Harvard Med Sch, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.
作者：
Luo Xiaozhou;Huang Jianting;Yu Juan*;Tang Chunzhi*
期刊：
中医杂志(英文版),2019年39(1):74-80 ISSN：0255-2922
通讯作者：
Yu Juan;Tang Chunzhi
作者机构：
[Luo Xiaozhou] Chengdu Second Peoples Hosp, Dept Rehabil, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan, Peoples R China.;[Huang Jianting] Shenzhen Univ, Sch Med, Affiliated Hosp 1, Shenzhen Peoples Hosp 2,Dept Rehabil Med, Shenzhen 518060, Peoples R China.;[Yu Juan] Hunan Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Coll Acupuncture & Tuina, Changsha 410000, Hunan, Peoples R China.;[Tang Chunzhi] Guangzhou Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Clin Med Coll Acupuncture Moxibust & Rehabil, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Yu Juan] H;[Tang Chunzhi] G;Hunan Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Coll Acupuncture & Tuina, Changsha 410000, Hunan, Peoples R China.;Guangzhou Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Clin Med Coll Acupuncture Moxibust & Rehabil, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Acupuncture;Glucose transporter type 1;Hypertension;Point LR 3 (Taichong);Positron emission tomography computed tomography;Rats, inbred SHR
摘要：
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Taichong (LR 3) acupuncture points (acupoints) on the expression of glucose transporter protein 1 (GLUT1) in the hypothalamus of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) as measured by combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT). METHODS: Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were divided into model, Taichong (LR 3) acupuncture, and sham groups. Additionally, Tokyo Wistar rats were used as the control group. Changes in blood pressure were recorded in different groups of rats before and after the corresponding treatment. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to study basic morphological changes, and immunohistochemistry was used to determine GLUT1 expression in the hypothalamus. Further, PET-CT was utilized to elucidate the antihypertensive mechanism after acupuncture at the Taichong (LR 3) acupoints. RESULTS: PET-CT indicated activation of the hypothalamus. Measurement of blood pressure showed that acupuncture at the Taichong (LR 3) acupoints lowered blood pressure. HE staining did not show any significant pathological changes, although differences in cell number were observed. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated a GLUT1 downregulation in the SHRs of the Taichong (LR 3) acupuncture group after the treatment. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at Taichong (LR 3) acupoints lowered blood pressure in SHRs, with possible mechanisms being changes in cell number and GLUT1 expression in the hypothalamus. (C) 2019 JTCM. All rights reserved.
期刊：
Molecular Medicine Reports,2018年17(1):1173-1181 ISSN：1791-2997
通讯作者：
Zhou, Zhi-Wen;Tang, Qing-Ping
作者机构：
[Zhou, Zhi-Wen; Yang, Qi-Dong; Yang, Jie; Jiang, Wen; Guo, Rong-Jing] Cent S Univ, Dept Neurol, Xiangya Hosp, 87 Xiang Ya Rd, Changsha 410008, Hunan, Peoples R China.;[Tang, Qing-Ping] Cent S Univ, Dept Physiol, Sch Basic Med Sci, 90 Xiang Ya Rd, Changsha 410008, Hunan, Peoples R China.;[Tang, Qing-Ping] Hunan Univ Chinese Med, Brain Hosp Hunan Prov, Dept Rehabil, Changsha 410007, Hunan, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Zhou, Zhi-Wen; Tang, Qing-Ping] C;Cent S Univ, Dept Neurol, Xiangya Hosp, 87 Xiang Ya Rd, Changsha 410008, Hunan, Peoples R China.;Cent S Univ, Dept Physiol, Sch Basic Med Sci, 90 Xiang Ya Rd, Changsha 410008, Hunan, Peoples R China.
关键词：
ERK/CREB pathway;Focal cerebral ischemia;GluR2/GRASP-l/PICKl cascades;Willed movement training
摘要：
Neurorehabilitation training is a therapeutic intervention for the loss of neural function induced by focal cerebral ischemia, however, the effect varies depending on the neurorehabilitation exercises. Willed movement (WM) training is defined as task-oriented training, which increases enthusiasm of patients to accomplish a specific task. The current study was performed to the evaluate effect of WM training on neurorehabilitation following focal cerebral ischemia, and further investigate the influence on neural plasticity-associated signaling pathway. Sprague-Dawley rats following temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) were randomly divided into four groups: tMCAO (no rehabilitation training), CR (control rehabilitation), EM (environmental modification) and WM groups. Rats in the CR group were forced to exercise (running) in a rotating wheel. In the WM group, food was used to entice rats to climb on a herringbone ladder. Herringbone ladders were also put into the cages of the rats in the CR and EM groups, however without the food attraction. WM group exhibited an improvement in neurobehavioral performance compared with other groups. TTC staining indicated an evident reduction in brain damage in the WM group. There were increased synaptic junctions following WM training, based on the observations of transmission election microscopy. Investigation of the molecular mechanism suggested that WM training conferred the greatest effect on stimulating the extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)/cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein 1 (CREB) pathway and glutamate receptor 2 (GluR2)/glutamate receptor interacting protein 1-associated protein 1 (GRASP-l)/protein interacting with C-kinase 1 (PICK1) cascades among groups. Collectively, the improvement of neurobehavioral performance by WM training following tMCAO is suggested to involve the ERK/CREB pathway and GluR2/GRASP-l/PICKl cascades. The present study provided a preliminary foundation for future research on the therapeutic effect of WM training against stroke-induced neuron damage.
通讯机构：
[Dong, JY; Yang, ZB] X;Xiamen Univ, Dept Elect Sci, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China.;Xiamen Univ, Dept Tradit Chinese Med, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is a common gastrointestinal disease which has been considered as precancerous lesions of gastric carcinoma. Previously, electro-acupuncture stimulation has been shown to be effective in ameliorating symptoms of CAG. However the underlying mechanism of this beneficial treatment is yet to be established. In the present study, an integrated histopathological examination along with molecular biological assay, as well as 1H NMR analysis of multiple biological samples (urine, serum, stomach, cortex and medulla) were employed to systematically assess the pathology of CAG and therapeutic effect of electro-acupuncture stimulation at Sibai (ST 2), Liangmen (ST 21), and Zusanli (ST 36) acupoints located in the stomach meridian using a rat model of CAG. The current results showed that CAG caused comprehensive metabolic alterations including the TCA cycle, glycolysis, membrane metabolism and catabolism, gut microbiota-related metabolism. On the other hand, electro-acupuncture treatment was found able to normalize a number of CAG-induced metabolomics changes by alleviating membrane catabolism, restoring function of neurotransmitter in brain and partially reverse the CAG-induced perturbation in gut microbiota metabolism. These findings provided new insights into the biochemistry of CAG and mechanism of the therapeutic effect of electro-acupuncture stimulations.
摘要：
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy that has been found useful for treating various diseases. The treatments involve the insertion of fine needles at acupoints along specific meridians (meridian specificity). This study aims to investigate the metabolic basis of meridian specificity using proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR)-based metabolomics. Electro-acupuncture (EA) stimulations were performed at acupoints of either Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming (SMFY) or Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang (GMFS) in healthy male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. (1)H-NMR spectra datasets of serum, urine, cortex, and stomach tissue extracts from the rats were analysed by multivariate statistical analysis to investigate metabolic perturbations due to EA treatments at different meridians. EA treatment on either the SMFY or GMFS acupoints induced significant variations in 31 metabolites, e.g., amino acids, organic acids, choline esters and glucose. Moreover, a few meridian-specific metabolic changes were found for EA stimulations on the SMFY or GMFS acupoints. Our study demonstrated significant metabolic differences in response to EA stimulations on acupoints of SMFY and GMFS meridians. These results validate the hypothesis that meridian specificity in acupuncture is detectable in the metabolome and demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of a metabolomics approach in understanding the mechanism of acupuncture.
作者机构：
[Zeng, Fang; Lan, Lei; Liang, Fanrong; Li, Zhengjie; Guo, Taipin; Wu, Feng; Li, Ying; Yin, Tao; Gao, Yujie; Yang, Jie; Dong, Mingkai] Chengdu Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Teaching Hosp 3, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.;[Jorgenson, Kristen; Kong, Jian; Makris, Nikos] Harvard Med Sch, Dept Psychiat, Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Boston, MA 02115 USA.;[Jorgenson, Kristen; Kong, Jian; Makris, Nikos] Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Martinos Ctr Biomed Imaging, Charlestown, MA 02129 USA.;[Liu, Mailan] Hunan Univ Chinese Med, Acupuncture & Tuina Sch, Changsha, Hunan, Peoples R China.;[Gong, Qiyong] Sichuan Univ, West China Hosp, Huaxi MR Res Ctr, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Liang, Fanrong] C;[Kong, Jian] H;[Kong, Jian] M;Chengdu Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Teaching Hosp 3, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.;Harvard Med Sch, Dept Psychiat, Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Boston, MA 02115 USA.
关键词：
Migraine;Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations;Brainsterm;Trigeminocervical complex;Acupuncture;Resting state fMRI
摘要：
Migraine is a common neurological disease with a high prevalence and unsatisfactory treatment options. The specific pathophysiological mechanisms of migraine remain unclear, which restricts the development of effective treatments for this prevalent disorder. The aims of this study were to 1) compare the spontaneous brain activity differences between Migraine without Aura (MwoA) patients and healthy controls (HCs), using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) calculation method, and 2) explore how an effective treatment (verum acupuncture) could modulate the ALFF of MwoA patients. One hundred MwoA patients and forty-six matched HCs were recruited. Patients were randomized to four weeks' verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waiting list groups. Patients had resting state BOLD-fMRI scan before and after treatment, while HCs only had resting state BOLD-fMRI scan at baseline. Headache intensity, headache frequency, self-rating anxiety and self-rating depression were used for clinical efficacy evaluation. Compared with HCs, MwoA patients showed increased ALFF in posterior insula and putamen/caudate, and reduced ALFF in rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM)/trigeminocervical complex (TCC). After longitudinal verum acupuncture treatment, the decreased ALFF of the RVM/TCC was normalized in migraine patients. Verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture have different modulation effects on ALFF of RVM/TCC in migraine patients. Our results suggest that impairment of the homeostasis of the trigeminovascular nociceptive pathway is involved in the neural pathophysiology of migraines. Effective treatments, such as verum acupuncture, could help to restore this imbalance.
摘要：
Electroacupuncture attenuates cerebral hypoxia and neuronal apoptosis induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. To further identify the involved mechanisms, we assumed that electroacupuncture used to treat cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was associated with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. We established rat models of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury using the modified Zea-Longa's method. At 30 minutes before model establishment, p38 MAPK blocker SB20358 was injected into the left lateral ventricles. At 1.5 hours after model establishment, electroacupuncture was administered at acupoints of Chize (LU5), Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36), and Sanyinjiao (SP6) for 20 minutes in the affected side. Results showed that the combination of EA and SB20358 injection significantly decreased neurologic impairment scores, but no significant differences were determined among different interventional groups. Hematoxylin-eosin staining also showed reduced brain tissue injuries. Compared with the SB20358 group, the cells were regularly arranged, the structures were complete, and the number of viable neurons was higher in the SB20358 + electroacupuncture group. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay showed a decreased apoptotic index in each group, with a significant decrease in the SB20358 + electroacupuncture group. Immunohistochemistry revealed reduced phosphorylated p38 expression at 3 days in the electroacupuncture group and SB20358 + electroacupuncture group compared with the ischemia/reperfusion group. There was no significant difference in phosphorylated p38 expression between the ischemia/reperfusion group and SB20358 group. These findings confirmed that the electroacupuncture effects on mitigating cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury are possibly associated with the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. A time period of 3 days could promote the repair of ischemic cerebral nerves.
作者机构：
[Wang, J. Y.; Duanmu, C. L.; Liu, J. L.; Gao, Y. H.] China Acad Chinese Med Sci, Inst Acupuncture & Moxibust, Dept Physiol, Beijing 100700, Peoples R China.;[Li, C. W.; Chang, X. R.] Hunan Univ Chinese Med, Coll Acupuncture & Moxibust & Tui Na, Changsha 410208, Hunan, Peoples R China.;[Li, C. W.] Hunan Tradit Chinese Med Coll, Affiliated Hosp 1, Zhuzhou 412012, Hunan, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Liu, J. L.] C;China Acad Chinese Med Sci, Inst Acupuncture & Moxibust, Dept Physiol, Beijing 100700, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Increasing evidence supports that acupuncture intervention is an effective approach for intraoperative and postoperative pain. Neuron-microglia crosstalk, mediated by the purinergic P2X7 receptor (R)/fractalkine/CX3CR1 cascade in the spinal cord dorsal horn, plays a pivotal role in pain processing. However, its involvement in the analgesic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) remains unclear. In this study, a rat neck-incision pain model was established by making a longitudinal incision along the midline of the neck and subsequent repeated mechanical stimulation. EA stimulation was applied to bilateral LI18, LI4-PC6, or ST36-GB34. The thermal pain threshold, cervicospinal ATP concentration, expression levels of purinergic P2XR and P2YR subunits mRNAs, and fractalkine, CX3CR1 and p38 MAPK proteins, were detected separately. The neck incision induced strong thermal hyperalgesia and upregulation of spinal ATP within 48 h. No significant change was found in thermal hyperalgesia after a single session of EA intervention. However, a single session of EA dramatically enhanced the neck incision-induced upregulation of ATP and upregulated the expression of P2X7R, which was reversed by two sessions of EA. Two sessions of EA at bilateral LI18 or LI4-PC6 attenuated hyperalgesia significantly, accompanied with downregulation of P2X7R/fractalkine/ CX3CR1 signaling after three sessions of EA. EA stimulation of LI18 or LI4-PC6 alleviates thermal hyperalgesia in neck-incision pain rats, which may be associated with its effects in regulating the neck incision-induced increase of ATP and P2X7R and subsequently suppressing fractalkine/CX3CR1 signaling in the cervical spinal cord.
摘要：
Combined with the fundamental theorems of thermodynamics and the heat radiation theory, Pennes bioheat equation is improved, which can describe the thermal process in tissue subject to heat stimulation of moxibustion more vividly. Applying the Green function method, we derive the analytical solution of the equation and establish a straightforward way to quantitatively interpret the temperature behavior of living tissues, such as healthy tissue, tumor tissue, non-acupoint tissue and acupoint tissue, as a result of moxibustion. The concept of temperature attenuation coefficient (TAC) is proposed to measure the energy absorption at different depth of tissue. The coherence between the simulation and experiment about surface temperature demonstrates the flexibility and availability of the solution. The oscillation energy flow has a mild stimulus to the biological tissues, which is an advantageous physical exciter for organization to achieve its good functions. Our results reveal that the heat with high frequency is mainly absorbed by the surface layer, while that of low frequency can deeply penetrate into the living biological parts. Significantly, the diseases can be treated by moxibustion heat through the role of deep penetration.
作者机构：
[Zeng, Fang; Lan, Lei; Liang, Fanrong; Li, Zhengjie; Guo, Taipin; Wu, Feng; Li, Ying; Gao, Yujie; Yang, Jie; Dong, Mingkai] Chengdu Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Teaching Hosp 3, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.;[Li, Zhengjie] Xiamen Univ, Dept Tradit Chinese Med, Coll Med, Xiamen, Fujian, Peoples R China.;[Sun, Sharon; Kong, Jian; Makris, Nikos] Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Dept Psychiat, Boston, MA 02114 USA.;[Sun, Sharon; Kong, Jian; Makris, Nikos] Harvard Med Sch, Boston, MA USA.;[Sun, Sharon; Kong, Jian; Makris, Nikos] Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Martinos Ctr Biomed Imaging, Charlestown, MA USA.
通讯机构：
[Liang, Fanrong] C;Chengdu Univ Tradit Chinese Med, Teaching Hosp 3, Chengdu, Sichuan, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Acupuncture;migraine without aura;fMRI;independent component analysis;frontoparietal network;resting-state functional connectivity
摘要：
Aims: This study aims to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) of the right frontoparietal network (rFPN) between migraineurs and healthy controls (HCs) in order to determine how the rFPN rs-fc can be modulated by effective treatment. Methods: One hundred patients and 46 matched HCs were recruited. Migraineurs were randomized to verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waiting list groups. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected before and after longitudinal treatments. Independent component analysis was applied in the data analysis. Results: We found that migraineurs showed decreased rs-fc between the rFPN and bilateral precuneus compared with HCs. After treatments (real and sham), rFPN rs-fc with the precuneus was significantly reduced. This reduction was associated with headache intensity relief. In order to explore the role of the precuneus in acupuncture modulation, we performed a seed-based rs-fc analysis using the precuneus as a seed and found that the precuneus rs-fc with the bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was significantly enhanced after treatment. Conclusion: Our results suggest that migraineurs are associated with abnormal rFPN rs-fc. An effective treatment, such as acupuncture, may relieve symptoms by strengthening the cognitive adaptation/coping process. Elucidation of the adaptation/coping mechanisms may open up a new window for migraine management.
