Electro-acupuncture regulates glucose metabolism in chronic stress model rats.

Studies have shown that acupuncture is very effective in treating chronic stress depression. However, little is known about the therapeutic mechanism of electro-acupuncture. Metabolomics, on the other hand, is a technology that determines the metabolic changes of organisms caused by various interventions as a whole and is related to the overall effect of electro-acupuncture (EA). 1HNMR, serum sample analysis, and histopathology and molecular biology analysis were used to evaluate the effects of EA. The results show that electro-acupuncture points can regulate the heat pain threshold of chronic stress model rats and change the morphology of adrenal cortex cells Structure, and regulate the contents of corticotropin-releasing hormone, Corticosterone (CORT), glucose, alanine and valine in the samples. These findings help to clarify the therapeutic mechanism of electro-acupuncture on heterologous chronic stress model rats. The effect of electro-acupuncture on improving chronic stress is likely to be achieved by regulating glucose metabolism, which can provide a reference for clinical acupuncture treatment of chronic stress depression.

[Time-effect relationship and molecular mechanism of electroacupuncture for repair of gastric mucosal lesion].

OBJECTIVE: To dynamically observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on repair of gastric mucosal lesion in rats with gastric ulcer, and to explore the time-effect relationship and molecular mechanism of EA for gastric ulcer. METHODS: A total of 72 SD rats were randomly assigned to a normal group, a model group, a acupoint group and a sham acupoint group, and each group were further divided into a 1-day subgroup, a 4-day subgroup and a 7-day subgroup, 6 rats in each subgroup. The rat model of gastric ulcer was established by using intragastric administration of ethyl alcohol. The rats in the acupoint group were treated with EA at"Zusanli"(ST 36) and"Liangmen"(ST 21); the rats in the sham acupoint group were treated with EA at points 5 mm next to"Zusanli"(ST 36) and"Liangmen"(ST 21); the EA was given 30 min per treatment, once a day. The rats in the normal group and model group were treated with immobilization for 30 min per day, and no EA was given. PR-PCR method was applied to test the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and substance P (SP); Western blot method was applied to test the expression of neurotensin (NT). RESULTS: After 1-day treatment, the ulcer index in the model group was higher than that in the normal group (P<0.01), and the expression of PCNA, SP and NT was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05); compared with the model group and sham acupoint group, the ulcer index was decreased in the acupoint group (both P<0.05), and the expression of PCNA and SP was up-regulated (all P<0.05) while that of NT was up-regulated (both P<0.01). After 4-day treatment, the ulcer index in the model group was reduced but still higher than that in the normal group (P<0.05), and the expression of PCNA, SP and NT was up-regulated and higher than that in the normal group (all P<0.01); the ulcer index in the acupoint group was similar to that in the normal group (P>0.05), and the expression of PCNA and SP was lower than that in the model group (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the expression of NT was not significantly different from that in the model group (P>0.05). After 7-day treatment, the differences of indexes above were not significant among the four groups (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: EA at acupoints of stomach meridian has two-way regulation on PCNA and SP and improve the expression of NT in different pathological state of gastric ulcer, which could further improve the repair of gastric ulcer.

Comparative metabolomics study on therapeutic mechanism of electro-acupuncture and moxibustion on rats with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG).

Some studies have proved that both acupuncture and moxibustion are very effective for the treatment of CAG. However, little is known about therapeutic mechanism of electro-acupuncture and moxibustion on CAG as well as the difference between them. On the other hand, metabolomics is a 'top-down' approach to understand metabolic changes of organisms caused by disease or interventions in holistic context, which consists with the holistic thinking of electro-acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. In this study, the difference of therapeutic mechanism between electro-acupuncture and moxibustion on CAG rats was investigated by a 1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis of multiple biological samples (serum, stomach, cerebral cortex and medulla) coupled with pathological examination and molecular biological assay. For all sample types, both electro-acupuncture and moxibustion intervention showed beneficial effects by restoring many CAG-induced metabolic changes involved in membrane metabolism, energy metabolism and function of neurotransmitters. Notably, the moxibustion played an important role in CAG treatment mainly by regulating energy metabolism in serum, while main acting site of electro-acupuncture treatment was nervous system in stomach and brain. These findings are helpful to facilitate the therapeutic mechanism elucidating of electro-acupuncture and moxibustion on CAG rats. Metabolomics is promising in mechanisms study for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

MOXIBUSTION ALLEVIATES GASTRIC PRECANCEROUS LESIONS IN RATS BY PROMOTING CELL APOPTOSIS AND INHIBITING PROLIFERATION-RELATED ONCOGENES.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that gastric mucosa dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia are gastric precancerous lesions (GPL). Moxibustion treatment of Liangmen (ST21) and Zusanli (ST36) alleviated the inflammatory response and dysplasia of gastric mucosa in our previous study. The purpose of this study was to further examine the underlying mechanism of moxibustion treatment of ST21 and ST36 on GPL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty SD rats were divided into five groups and rats with GPL were treated with either moxibustion (ST), moxibustion (Sham), or vitacoenzyme. B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2), tumor protein p53 (P53) and cellular Myc (C-MYC), which are related to cell apoptosis, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region proteins (Ag-NORs), which are associated with cell proliferation, and cell signaling proteins, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK), were measured after moxibustion treatment. RESULTS: Compared with Control group, gastric mucosa in GPL group showed abnormal mucosal proliferation and pathological mitotic figure, the mRNA expression of bcl-2, P53 and C-MYC increased significantly (P < 0.01), the protein expression of PCNA, VEGF, Ag-NORs and the activity of NF-κß as well as EGFR/ERK signaling proteins also increased significantly (P < 0.01). Moxibustion treatment decreased gastric mucosal proliferation and pathological mitotic figure, down-regulated the mRNA expression of bcl-2, P53, C-MYC (P < 0.01), decreased the protein expression of PCNA, VEGF, Ag-NORs and the activity of NF-κß as well as EGFR/ERK signaling proteins significantly (P < 0.01). But moxibustion treatment of Sham didn't show the same effect on GPL. CONCLUSION: Moxibustion treatment inhibited cell apoptosis and reduced gastric mucosa dysplasia by inhibiting the expression of bcl-2, P53, C-MYC and decreased the activity of NF-κß as well as EGFR/ERK signaling proteins.

[Effects of moxibustion on cell proliferative factors in gastric mucosa in rats with precancerous lesions of chronic atrophic gastritis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the molecular mechanism of moxibustion at stomach meridian acupoints for precancerous lesions of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). METHODS: Fifty male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a stomach meridian group, a control point group and a vitacoenzyme group, 10 rats in each group. The CAG precancerous lesion model was made in all the groups except the normal group. The rats in the normal group and model group were bundled for 30 min per day; the rats in the stomach meridian group and control point group were bundled and treated with moxibustion at stomach meridian acupoints or control points for 30 min per day; the rats in the vitacoenzyme group were treated with intragastric administration of vitacoenzyme, once per day. All the treatment was given for 20 weeks. The pathological morphological change of gastric mucosa was observed under optical microscope; the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), gastric mucosal proliferatig cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), argyrophilic protein of nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-NORs) in gastric mucosal cells were detected by enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, in the model group the gastric mucosal cells showed dysplasia and the expression of EGF, TGF-alpha, PCNA, VEGF, Ag-NORs in gastric mucosa cells in the model group was increased significantly (all P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the gastric mucosa lesion gradually recovered and the expression of EGF, TGF-alpha, PCNA, VEGF, Ag-NORs in gastric mucosal cells was gradually decreased in the stomach meridian group, control point group and vitacoenzyme group, in which the stomach meridian group had the most significant effects (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion at stomach meridian acupoints can obviously decrease the expression of cell proliferative factors in gastric mucosa in rats with CAG precancerous lesions, inhibit the gastric mucosal cell dysplasia, and promote the recovery of gastric mucosa.