Electroacupuncture facilitates M2 macrophage polarization and its potential role in the regulation of inflammatory response.

The underlying mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in relieving obesity, anti-inflammation and the interaction with metabolic pathways in obese mice has not been elaborated. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of EA on macrophage polarization in obesity tissue of diet-induced obesity mice. Mice were divided in 6 groups: normal control group, model group, EA-7 group, EA-14 group, EA-21 group and EA-28 group. Low-frequency EA was applied at "Tianshu (ST 25)", "Guanyuan (CV 4)", "Zusanli (ST 36)" and "Sanyinjiao (SP 6)" for 10 min. Adipose tissue was assessed with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Adipocytokines and pro-inflammatory factors expression was measured by ELISA. The protein and mRNA levels of macrophage markers were examined by immumohistochemical staining and RT-PCR, respectively. EA treatment was associated with a decrease of adipose tissue and large adipocytes, and an increase of small adipocytes. After EA treatment, the levels of Leptin, Chemerin, TNF-α, F4/80, iNOS, and CD11c decreased obviously in adipose tissue, while IL-4, IL-10 and CD206 levels increased significantly. Besides, TNF-α in spleen tissue was also downregulated, but IL-4 and IL-10 were upregulated. EA prevents weight gain through modulation inflammatory response and macrophage polarization in obese adipose tissues.

Regulating Gut Flora Dysbiosis in Obese Mice by Electroacupuncture.

Recently, gut flora has been linked to the onset of obesity and has been shown to influence the host's metabolism. Acupuncture is a well-known agent used for the treatment of numerous diseases such as obesity. This study aimed to explore the impacts of electroacupuncture treatment on gut microbiota composition and function in obese mice. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes and Metagenomic analysis of the fecal microbiota were used for this purpose. The basic parameters of body weight, Lee's index, serum lipid and epididymal adipose weight were ameliorated significantly after introducing an electroacupuncture intervention. Acidobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Basidiomycota (Normal group) and Fusobacteria, Firmicutes and Spirochmycetes (Model group) were remarkably affluent at the phylum level. Bacteroides sp. CAG: 927 and Prevotella sp. CAG: 1031 (Normal group), Lachnospiraceae bacterium and Helicobacter rodentium (Model group) at the species level were distinctly enriched. The structures and functions of the intestinal flora were significantly different between healthy and obese mice, and animals in the acupuncture group gradually tended towards healthy controls. Moreover, electroacupuncture altered the bacterial diversity and metabolic genes to establish new balance, observed the obvious change from 7[Formula: see text]d and stabilized gradually through 21[Formula: see text]d. These findings suggested gut flora could be a novel target of electroacupuncture treatment against obesity.