Acupuncture improved lipid metabolism by regulating intestinal absorption in mice.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in which abnormal lipid metabolism plays an important role in disease progression, has become a pandemic. Abnormal lipid metabolism, for example an increased fat intake, has been thought to be an initial factor leading to NAFLD. The small intestine is the main site of dietary lipid absorption. A number of clinical trials have shown that acupuncture has positive effects in the regulation of lipid metabolism, which is closely associated with the progression of NAFLD. We therefore hypothesized that, acupuncture can improve the conditions of NAFLD by regulating intestinal absorption of lipid. AIM: To study the role of acupuncture treatment in the improvement of metabolic syndrome secondary to NAFLD by mouse model. METHODS: 8-wk-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed a methionine- and choline-deficient diet for 3 wk. Then, all mice were separated randomly into acupoints group (AG) or non-acupoints group (NG) with high fat diet feeding. Needling treatment was performed at Zu san li, Guan yuan and Yong quan acupoints as acupuncture treatment to AG mice while non-acupoints place to NG mice. Finally, mice were anesthetized with an injection of ketamine-medetomidine and euthanized by exsanguination. RESULTS: An apparent improvement of obesity was found in AG mice after acupuncture treatment. In AG mice, the body weight was much lower (22.6 ± 1.2 g vs 28.1 ± 1.0 g, P < 0.005) in comparison to NG mice. The length of small intestine in AG mice was significantly shorter (26.7 ± 2.3 cm vs 32.7 ± 2.7 cm, P < 0.005). A large amount of chyme was observed in the lumen of the AG small intestine. The expression of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein C2 was downregulated. Triacylglycerols (TGs), total cholesterol and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels of the small intestinal tissue were significantly higher in AG mice, but the serum TGs and NEFA levels were reduced in AG mice. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that acupuncture at Zu san li, Guan yuan and Yong quan suppressed lipid absorption by downregulating the expression of apolipoproteins in the small intestine.

Neuroinflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Neurogenesis in a Mouse Model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and the Treatment with Kampo Medicine.

The diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is mainly symptom-based, and the etiology is still unclear. Here, we evaluated the pathological changes in the brain of a mouse model of CFS and studied the effects of Kampo medicine. A mouse model of CFS was established through six repeated injections of Brucella abortus (BA) every two weeks for a period of 12 weeks. Neuroinflammation was measured by estimating interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and oxidative stress by nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) 6 weeks after the last injection. Hippocampal neurogenesis was evaluated through Ki-67, doublecortin (DCX), and 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assays. The effects of Kampo medicines (Hochuekkito (TJ-41) and Hachimijiogan (TJ-7)) on neuroinflammation during CFS were studied. The wheel-running activity of mice was decreased by about 50% compared to baseline at 6 weeks after the last BA injection. The levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, 3-NT, and 4-HNE were increased in both the cortex and the hippocampus of CFS mice at 6 weeks after the last BA injection. Hippocampal neurogenesis was unchanged in CFS mice. Treatment with TJ-41 and TJ-7 reduced the expressions of IL-1ß, IL-6, and IFN-γ in the hippocampus but not in the cortex. The results of the present study indicate that neuroinflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in the pathogenesis of CFS. The data further suggest that treatment with TJ-41 and TJ-7 could help reduce the inflammation associated with CFS in the hippocampus, but failed to improve the symptoms in CFS mice.

Acupuncture on ST36, CV4 and KI1 Suppresses the Progression of Methionine- and Choline-Deficient Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide, and its treatment remain a constant challenge. A number of clinical trials have shown that acupuncture treatment has beneficial effects for patients with NAFLD, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its action are still largely unknown. In this study, we established a mouse model of NAFLD by administering a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet and selected three acupoints (ST36, CV4, and KI1) or nonacupoints (sham) for needling. We then investigated the effects of acupuncture treatment on the progression of NAFLD and the underlying mechanisms. After two weeks of acupuncture treatment, the liver in the needling-nonapcupoint group (NG) mice appeared pale and yellowish in color, while that in the needling-acupoint group (AG) showed a bright red color. Histologically, fewer lipid droplets and inflammatory foci were observed in the AG liver than in the NG liver. Furthermore, the expression of proinflammatory signaling factors was significantly downregulated in the AG liver. A lipid analysis showed that the levels of triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) were lower in the AG liver than in the NG liver, with an altered expression of lipid metabolism-related factors as well. Moreover, the numbers of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)-positive hepatocytes and levels of hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly lower in AG mice than in NG mice. In line with these results, a higher expressions of antioxidant factors was found in the AG liver than in the NG liver. Our results indicate that acupuncture repressed the progression of NAFLD by inhibiting inflammatory reactions, reducing oxidative stress, and promoting lipid metabolism of hepatocytes, suggesting that this approach might be an important complementary treatment for NAFLD.

Mutant USA strain of porcine circovirus type 2 (mPCV2) exhibits similar virulence to the classical PCV2a and PCV2b strains in caesarean-derived, colostrum-deprived pigs.

In 2012, a mutant porcine circovirus type 2 (mPCV2) strain was identified in cases of PCV-associated disease (PCVAD) in the USA. The mPCV2 had an additional amino acid, lysine (K), in the capsid at position 234. The objectives of this study were to compare the pathogenicity of mPCV2, PCV2a and PCV2b in pigs using biologically pure infectious virus stocks derived from respective infectious DNA clones, and to investigate the importance of genotype-specific ORF2 and the presence of lysine at position 234 of the capsid. A total of 47, 2-week-old, caesarean-derived, colostrum-deprived (CDCD) pigs were assigned to one of seven groups. At 3 weeks of age, the pigs were experimentally inoculated with saline, PCV2a, PCV2b, mPCV2, PCV2b-234-K (lysine addition in ORF2), chimeric PCV2b-ORF1/mPCV2-ORF2 or reciprocal chimeric mPCV2-ORF1/PCV2b-ORF2. All pigs were necropsied 21 days post-infection (p.i.). Gross lesions were limited to visible icterus and loss of body condition in a portion of the mPCV2 pigs. The amount of PCV2 DNA was significantly higher in pigs inoculated with mPCV2 compared with PCV2b in sera at 7 days p.i. and faecal swabs at 14 days p.i. Based on lymphoid lesions, a higher prevalence of PCVAD was seen in pigs infected with PCV2s containing the additional 234-K (64.3 %) compared with those infected with a PCV2 with the regular 233 bp ORF2 (40 %). Results indicated that all PCV2 isolates were capable of inducing severe lesions and disease in the CDCD pig model, and there was no significant difference in virulence.

Comparison of the effectiveness of passive (dam) versus active (piglet) immunization against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and impact of passively derived PCV2 vaccine-induced immunity on vaccination.

The objectives of this study were (1) to compare the efficacy of two different PCV2 vaccination protocols (colostrum-derived immunity versus piglet vaccination) in a conventional PCV2 growing pig challenge model and (2) to evaluate the efficacy of vaccinating piglets with the same vaccine used in the dams. Two different commercially available vaccines (VAC1; VAC2) were used in the same experiment. Seventy-eight piglets born to vaccinated or non-vaccinated sows were divided into 8 groups. A proportion of the pigs with and a proportion of the pigs without passively acquired immunity were vaccinated at 21 days of age. All pigs except negative controls were challenged with PCV2b at 35 days post-vaccination and necropsied at 21 days post-challenge (dpc). The data indicates that both dam vaccination and piglet vaccination had similar efficacies in reducing PCV2 viral loads and antigen levels in the growing pigs. Interestingly, dam vaccination alone did result in significantly (P<0.05) lower anti-PCV2-antibodies levels at challenge in piglets from dams immunized with VAC2 compared to piglets from VAC1 immunized dams. When data obtained from the growing piglets that were vaccinated with VAC1 or VAC2 were compared, antibody levels and reduction of incidence of PCV2-antigen were not different; however, piglets vaccinated with VAC2 had reduced PCV2-DNA genomic copies in serum by 21 dpc. Vaccination of piglets with the same vaccine as was used on their dams did not appear to affect vaccine efficacy as piglets in these groups had anti-PCV2-antibody levels and PCV2 genomic copies similar to the groups where vaccine was administered to the piglets only.