Effects of electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) on inflammatory cytokines in a rat model of smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Improvement in lung function was reported after acupuncture treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Because an immune response imbalance could be seen in COPD, we hypothesize that electroacupuncture (EA) may play a role in regulating inflammatory cytokines and contribute to lung protection in a rat model of smoke-induced COPD.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A COPD model using male Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to cigarette smoke was established. The rats were randomly divided into four groups (control, sham, COPD, and COPD plus EA), and COPD model was evaluated by measuring pulmonary pathological changes and lung function. EA was applied to the acupuncture point Zusanli (ST36) for 30 min/d for 14 d in sham and COPD rats. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was used to measure levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and malonaldehyde (MDA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control rats, COPD rats had significant changes in lung resistance (RL) and lung compliance (CL) (both P<0.01), bronchi and bronchiole airway obstruction (P<0.01), and levels of MDA, TNF-α, and IL-1β (P<0.01). There were no significant differences between the control and the sham groups. Compared with the COPD rats, the COPD plus EA rats had decreased RL and increased CL (both P<0.05), and reduced bronchi and bronchiole airway obstruction (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively), while levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MDA in BALF were lowered (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). However, TNF-α and IL-1β levels of the EA group rats remained higher than those of the control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EA at ST36 can reduce lung injury in a COPD rat model, and beneficial effects may be related to down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects may prolong the clinical benefit of EA.</p>

Differential expressions of nNOS and iNOS in the rostral ventrolateral medulla induced by electroacupuncture in acute myocardial ischemia rats / 生理学报

Increasing lines of evidence has been accumulated that nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) distribute plentifully in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and contribute to cardiovascular regulation. In the present study, the expressions of neuronal and inducible isoform of NOS (nNOS and iNOS) were observed in the RVLM of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) Wistar rats experienced electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, thereby the cardiovascular effects of NO in the RVLM were investigated and the mechanism of acupuncture effect on AMI was inferred. The results indicated that in the AMI rats, cardiac functions were markedly attenuated with high serum level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and norepinephine (NE), the number of nNOS-immunoreactive cells and nNOS mRNA exprossion in the RVLM area were increased, while those of iNOS were lowered. EA at "Neiguan" acupoints (Pe 6) 30 min daily for successive 5 d resulted in an improvement of the cardiac functions, decreases in NE and BNP levels; it also increased the expression of iNOS and decreased the expression of nNOS in the RVLM. These results suggest that the curative effect of acupuncture on AMI is possibly attributable to the differential regulation of NOS/NO in the RVLM, leading to decreased sympathetic outflow and improvement of cardiac functions.

Medullary ventrolateral nitric oxide mediates the cardiac effect of electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" acupoint on acute myocardial ischemia in rats / 生理学报

Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats anesthetized with a mixture of urethane and chloralose. A rat model of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) was made by ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery (LAD). After the LAD ligation, the ischemia area of the left ventricular wall became somewhat pale immediately. Under a light microscope, the pathological examination revealed that all the cells were swollen and in red color when the cardiac section was stained with hematoxylin basic fuchsin picric acid (HBFP), which indicated a typical change in the myocardial ischemia. In the AMI model, it was found that cardiac functions were markedly attenuated, such as decreases in the heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), maximal rate for left ventricular pressure rising and declining (+/-dp/dt(max)), velocity of contractile element (V(CE)) and total area of cardiac force loop (L(0)), and an increase in the left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP). In such AMI rats, application of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" acupoints (Pe 6) for 20 min could obviously improve the above-mentioned cardiac functions. After microinjection of nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), was made into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), the curative effect of EA on myocardial ischemia was reduced significantly or abolished, while after microinjection of normal saline of the same volume was made into the RVLM, the improving effect of EA remained. These results suggest that the effect of EA on myocardial ischemia is possibly mediated by the nitric oxide (NO) in the RVLM.