[Overview and reflection on the development of the first batch of the inheritance studios of acupuncture and moxibustion academic schools].

The development status of the first 11 inheritance studios of acupuncture and moxibustion academic schools is summarized. Aiming at the current problems, it is suggested to establish qualitative and quantitative evaluation standards and establish a fair and reasonable evaluation system, build a systematic scientific theory and excavate the inherent laws of the schools, implement standardized management of the schools and protect the personalized characteristics of the schools, open outpatient clinic of acupuncture and moxibustion schools and promote the characteristic diagnosis and treatment technology, to promote the inheritance and development of acupuncture and moxibustion academic schools.

[Analysis of acupoints selection rules and efficacy evaluation of acupuncture and moxibustion for allergic rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the rules of acupoints selection of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) by using data mining technology, as well as to compare the efficacy of different acupoints selection methods. METHODS: Papers about acupuncture and moxibustion for treating AR published from January 2002 to August 2022 was retrieved from Chinese and English databases including CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed and PubMed by using keywords of "acupuncture", "moxibustion" and "allergic rhinitis". According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the collected literature was screened to establish the AR database. Frequency statistic analysis was conducted for detecting high-frequency acupoints and specific acupoints frequency, and the curative effects of different acupoints selection methods were compared. SPSS26.0 software was used for factor analysis, cluster analysis and QUEST decision tree model identification. RESULTS: A total of 289 papers were included, with 384 acupuncture prescriptions extracted. A total of 99 acupoints were involved with the application frequency of 2 430 times. Among them, the application frequency of Yingxiang (LI20) is the highest (296 times, 12.18%), followed by Yintang (GV24+) and Hegu (LI4), etc. The main invloved meridians are the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang, the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming and the Governor Vessel. The involved specific acupoints with the highest frequency of application is the crossing acupoints. Nine common factors of acupoints combinations units were extracted by factor analysis, and two cluster prescriptions of acupoints combinations correlation were obtained by cluster analysis. Three decision paths of simplified acupoints selection were simulated by the decision tree, with LI20 as the dependent variable. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of AR with acupuncture and moxibustion, the regularities and characteristics of acupoints selection are as follows: 1) often selecting local acupoints and acupoint combinations along meridians, 2) focusing on combination of dispelling pathogenic factors with strengthening vital energy, 3) advocating diversification of acupoint matching methods. The combination of factor analysis, cluster analysis and QUEST decision tree application provides three directions for clinical acupoints selection of AR.

[Brief introduction of Qilu modern acupuncture methods].

Qilu acupuncture and moxibustion has promoted the formation and development of traditional Chinese medicine, which has a special historical position. By systematically collecting, sorting out and summarizing the characteristic acupuncture methods and academic ideas of several Qilu acupuncturists since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the understanding of the advantages and characteristics of Qilu modern acupuncture methods is deepened, aiming to exploring the inheritance and development pattern of Qilu acupuncture methods in the new era.

[Analysis on combination regularities of Houxi (SI3) in ancient times of China based on latent structure model].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility and application value of combination regularities of acupoint Houxi (SI3) in Chinese ancient times based on latent structure model. METHODS: Relevant articles about SI3 for treating various diseases with acupuncture, moxibustion, acupoint application, etc. were mainly searched from book Chinese Medical Classics (5th edition), followed by establishment of a Database of Houxi Acupoint Recipes. The Lantern 5.0 software was used to construct and analyze the latent structure model of high-frequently-used acupoints. RESULTS: A total of 46 high frequently-used acupoints contained in 240 articles of 26 medical books were collected. The top 7 acupoints are Shenmai (BL62), Hegu (LI4), Qiangu (SI2), Fengchi (GB20), Jianshi (PC5), Wangu (SI4) and Quchi (LI11) in sequence. After modeling the 46 high-frequently used adjunct acupoints, 12 latent variables (Y0-Y11) and 24 latent classes were obtained by setting the cumulative coverage threshold ratio to be 95%. According to the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) measure, the model score was -2 170.68 points. Seven comprehensive clustering models were summarized up according to the latent structure. Compared with the yin meridians, the yang meridians played a more significant role. The multiple combinations of SI3 with specific acupoints provided a reference for clinical practice. The supplementary acupoints mainly distribute in the upper and lower limbs, head, face, neck, etc. and the SI3 acupoint recipes function mainly in dredging and activating meridians and collaterals, clearing away pathologic heat and wind, improving eyesight, and relieving swelling and pain. CONCLUSION: The latent structure model is applicable in analysis of the regularities of SI3 acupoint combination for treating some diseases. Comprehensive clustering is employed to determine the primary acupoint SI3 and adjunct acupoint matching, revealing the common regularity and logical progressive relationship between the primary and secondary points, which may be helpful for teaching, clinical and scientific research.

[Analysis of clinical indications of acupoint Yinbai (SP1) and its compatible regularities based on data mining technology].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the dominant indications and laws of acupoint compatibility of Yinbai (SP1) by using modern statistics and data mining techniques. METHODS: Literature about indications and acupoint prescriptions of SP1 published before October of 1949 were retrieved from books Chinese Medical Dictionary (5th edition) and Collection of Modern Medical Journals of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and those published from October 1st of 1949 to January of 2021 retrieved from databa-ses of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, Web of Science and Pubmed by using key words of Yinbai (SP1),"Guilei"(),"Guiyan"() and Jing (Well)-point of Spleen Meridian, followed by screening the data and establishing a SQL Server database after standardized processing. Then, the descriptive analysis, clustering analysis and association rule analysis were conducted by using Gephi visualization software, SPSS Statistics 25.0 and SPSS Modeler, separately. RESULTS: Before October of 1949, the single SP1 acupoint was usually used to treat 12 types of diseases (mainly the internal diseases as asthma, abdominal distension, vomiting, etc.), and the compound prescriptions of SP1 were usually used to treat 20 types of diseases (mainly the internal diseases as insomnia and dreamful sleep, blood syndrome, etc.), and its adjunct acupoints belong to the first three meridians: the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian and Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian. After October of 1949, the single SP1 was used to dominantly treat 2 types of diseases (mainly the gynecological diseases as metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, and hypermenorrhea, etc.), and the compound prescriptions of SP1 were frequently used to treat 10 diseases (metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, sequela of apoplexy, mental disorders, insomnia and dreamful sleep, etc.), and the adjunct acupoints of compound prescriptions belong to the first three meridians, namely the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, Concept Vessel and Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian. Before and after October of 1949, the adjunct acupoints with the highest degree of correlation were Lidui (ST45), Shaoshang(LU11), Zusanli(ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP9), and Guanyuan (CV4). Cluster analysis showed that 9 effective clusters obtained may be used as potential prescriptions of SP1, and association rule analysis displayed that the first three strongly connected acupoint matching groups were: SP1-ST45, SP1-LU11, and SP1-ST36 frequently used before October of 1949, and SP1-SP9, SP1-ST36 and SP1-CV4 employed after October of 1949. CONCLUSION: Data mining technology reveals that acupoint SP1 alone is mainly used to treat internal diseases before 1949, and gynecological diseases after 1949; and compound acupoint recipes of SP1 are mainly to treat the internal diseases before 1949, and the gynecological diseases and mental disorders after 1949 in China. The frequently employed adjunct acupoints of SP1 are ST45, LU11, ST36, SP9 and CV4 both before and after 1949.

[Discussion on the theory of he-sea point in Neijing (Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor) and Nanjing (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Eighty-one Difficult Issues )].

By collecting and analyzing the explanation/conception, acupoint name, acupoint location, indications, acupuncture and moxibustion techniques and contraindications of he-sea point recorded in Neijing (Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor) and Nanjing (Yellow Emperor 's Classic of Eighty-one Difficult Issues), it is found that conception of he-sea point of five-shu points has been specifically formed, the names of he-sea points of eleven meridians, the locations and the ways to locate them were recorded. But, the summaries relevant to the indications of the many he-sea points have not been included in teaching materials, thus, it needs to be further analyzed. The acupuncture-moxibustion techniques at he-sea point are flexible and the attention should be paid to distinguish "needling he-sea point in autumn" from "needling he-sea point in winter". Besides, the consideration should be given on coma/fainting induced by arterial bleeding when needling he-sea point, as well as the joint motor impairment caused by over deep insertion in acupuncture.

COX-2 gene rs689466 polymorphism is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer among Caucasians: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported the Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) rs689466 polymorphism as a susceptibility locus of colorectal cancer (CRC), but their findings are inconsistent. Thus, this meta-analysis was performed to more accurately identify the effects of this polymorphism on CRC risk. METHODS: Potential case-control studies on EMBASE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PubMed were searched. The strength of association was quantified by pooled odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Totally 16 articles involving 8998 cases and 11,917 controls were included. RESULTS: None of the five tested genetic models revealed an association between rs689466 polymorphism and CRC risk. Stratified analysis by ethnicity uncovered a positive association between this polymorphism and higher CRC risk in Caucasians, but not in Asians. In addition, we found that high expression of COX-2 was associated with better overall survival for all CRC patients. CONCLUSION: To sum up, the COX-2 rs689466 polymorphism may be related with susceptibility to CRC in Caucasians. This finding should be verified by larger-size studies with different ethnic groups.

[Exploration of new teaching mode of Science of Meridians and Acupoints based on three-dimensional practice platform].

The new teaching mode of Science of Meridians and Acupoints based on the practice platform was explored so as to promote the mutual benefits for both teaching and learning. As the basic course of acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina specialty, Science of Meridians and Acupoints is the core theoretical and practical course. Through the establishment of on-campus practice platforms, e.g. the Technique Association of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, physical therapy room of acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina and the practical platform for promoting outside-campus medical service, in accordance with the teaching mode of "theory → practice → re-theory → re-practice", the class teaching of theory and the skill training were optimized, the three-dimensional practice platforms for teaching Science of Meridians and Acupoints was constructed, meaning "class teaching → on-campus practice → social service". This teaching mode motivates the enthusiasm of teaching and learning, improves the teaching quality of Science of Meridians and Acupoints, enhances the professional theoretical level as well as the clinical practice ability. Such teaching mode plays a positive role in the cultivation of talents of acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina.

[Transcutaneous Electrostimulation of Auricular Otopoints Reduces Epileptic Attack Possibly by Suppressing Hippocampal Gliocyte Proliferation and Regulating IL-6 and IL-10 Expression in Chronic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of transcutaneous otopoint electrostimulaiton (TCOES) on seizure frequency, immunoreactivity of hippocampal gliocytes and expression of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6(IL-6) and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (CTLE) rats, so as to investigate its antiepileptic mechanism. METHODS: Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into control, model and TCOES groups (n=12 in each group). The CTLE model was established by intraperitoneal injection (i.p.i.) of lithium chloride (127.2 mg/kg), scopolamine (1 mg/kg, 20 h after the 1st injection) and pilocarpine (10 mg/kg, 30 min after scopolamine injection). Rats of the control group were treated by i.p.i. of normal saline. TCOES (1 mA, 20 Hz) was applied to bilateral otopoint "Heart"-"Lung"-"Subcortex" region for 20 min, once daily for 6 weeks. The epileptic attack was observed by a video monitoring system. The numbers of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule-1 (Iba 1)-labeled microgliacytes and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-labeled astrocytes in the CA 1 and CA 3 regions of hippocampus were counted under light microscope after immunostaining, and the expression levels of hippocampal IL-6 and IL-10 proteins and genes were determined by immunofluorescence and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. RESULTS: After TCOES intervention, the seizure frequency was significantly decreased in comparison with pre-treatment(P<0.05), modeling-induced dramatic increase of the numbers of microgliacytes and astrocytes,IL-6 immunoactivity in the hippocampal CA 1 and CA 3 regions, and IL-6 mRNA expression in the hippocampus were significantly suppressed (P<0.05), and hippo-campal IL-10 immunoactivity and mRNA expression were considerably up-regulated in comparison with the model group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TCOES intervention has an antiepileptic effect in CTLE rats, which may be associated with its effects in suppressing gliocyte proliferation, suppressing the expression of proinflammatory cytokine IL-6, and up-regulaiting the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the hippocampus.

[Effect of "Nape Seven Needles" on Expression of Dll 4 and Hes 1 in Cervical Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of "Nape Seven Needles" on the expressions of Delta-like ligand 4 (Dll 4) and hairy and enhancer of split homolog 1(Hes 1) in cervical intervertebral disc degeneration(IVDD) rats, so as to explore its mechanism of deferring the degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc. METHODS: SD male rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group and a nape seven needles group (n=11 in each group). The IVDD model was established by static-dynamic imbalance method. "Nape Seven Needles" acupoints were bilateral "Fengchi" (GB 20), "Tianzhu" (BL 10), "Wangu" (GB 12) and "Fengfu" (GV 16). The rats in the nape seven needles group were treated for 4 weeks, once a day, with needles retained for 20 minutes. Tilted plane test was used to observe the angle changes. The morphology of cervical intervertebral disc was observed after H.E. stain. Dll 4 and Hes 1 mRNA and protein expression in intervertebral disc tissues were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with that in the normal group, the angle of tilted plane in the model group decreased (P<0.05); compared with that in the model group, the angle in the nape seven needles group increased (P<0.05). The structure of cervical intervertebral disc was normal and the fiber ring was arranged orderly in the normal group. The morphology of cervical intervertebral disc is irregular in the model group, and the number of nucleus pulposus cells decreased compared with that in the normal group. The structure of cervical intervertebral disc in the nape seven needles group was similar to that in the normal group. Compared with that in the normal group, the expression of Dll 4 mRNA decreased in the model group (P<0.05). The expression of Dll 4 mRNA in the nape seven needles group was higher than that in the model group (P<0.05). The expression of Hes 1 mRNA in the model group was higher than that in the normal group (P<0.05). The protein expressions of Dll 4 and Hes 1 in the nape seven needles group were higher than those in the model group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture at "Nape Seven Needles" acupoints can defer the degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc, which may be related to its regulation of Dll 4 and Hes 1 mRNA and protein expression in the intervertebral disc tissue.

[Effects of Transcutaneous Electrostimulation of Auricular Points on Behavior and Hippocampal IL-1 ß and TNF-α Expression in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of transcutaneous otopoint electrostimulation (TCOES) on behavior and expression of hippocampal interleukin-1 ß (IL-1 ß) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression in lithium-pilocarpine induced chronic spontaneous temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) rats, so as to investigate its antiepileptic mechanism. METHODS: Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into control, model and TCOES groups (n=12 in each group). The epilepsy model was established by intraperitoneal injection of lithium chloride (127.2 mg/kg), scopolamine(1 mg/kg, 20 h after the 1st injection) and pilocarpine (10 mg/kg, 30 min after scopolamine injection). Rats of the control group were treated by injection of normal saline(i.p.i.). Transcutaneous electrostimulation (1 mA, 20 Hz) was applied to bilateral otopoints "Heart" "Lung" and "Subcortex" for 20 min, once daily for 6 weeks except the weekends. The behavior reactions were observed by a video monitoring system. The expression of IL-1 ß and TNF-α proteins and genes in the hippocampus were determined by immunofluorescence and quantitative real-time PCR, separately. RESULTS: Behavioral observation showed that after TCOES intervention, the frequency of epilepsy attack was significantly decreased in comparison with pre-treatment (P<0.05). Immunofluorescence and real-time PCR showed that compared with the control group, the immunoactivity of IL-1 ß and TNF-α in both hippocampal CA 1 and CA 3 regions and hippocampal IL-1 ß and TNF-α gene expression were obviously increased in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Following TCOES, the increased hippocampal IL-1 ß and TNF-α and IL-1 ß mRNA and TNF-α mRNA expression levels were all suppressed (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: TCOES intervention has an antiepileptogenic effect in temporal lobe epilepsy rats, which may be related to its effects in down-regulating expression of proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 ß and TNF-α in the hippocampus.

The anti-cancerous activity of recombinant trichosanthin on prostate cancer cell PC3

CONTEXT: Trichosanthin produced in the root tube of Trichosanthes kirilowii shows anti-tumor activity on a series of cancer cells including Hela, MCF-7, HL-60. But there is little information about its effect on the carcinogenesis of prostate cancer. OBJECTIVE: This work was designed to study the role of trichosanthin on prostate cancer cells PC3. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Trichosanthin was expressed in BL21 strain and purified by affinity chromatography. MTT assay was designed to determine the effect of trichosanthin on growth of PC3 cells at doses of 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 120 µg/ml.Then the effect of 50 µg/ml rTCS alone or combined with 2 µM IL-2 on PC3 cell proliferation was analyzed. And the mechanism of rTCS was studied by western blot. After that the in vivo effect of rTCS combined with IL-2 was explored in mice bearing PC3 xenograft tumor. RESULTS: Trichosanthin was successfully expressed in BL21 and purified by 100 mM imidazole. It was shown to inhibit proliferation of PC3 cells in a dose-dependent manner with IC50 50.6 µg/ml. When combined with cytokine IL-2, a significant synergic effect was obtained. The inhibition rate on PC3 was around 50 % in combination group while only 35.5 % in single rTCS group at 50 µg/ml. Further, the expression of full length caspase-8 and Bcl-2 decreased significantly while cleaved caspase-8 and Bax were up-regulated, which suggest that caspase-8-mediated apoptosis pathway may be activated by rTCS in PC3 cells. Moreover, our data demonstrated that tumor volume and tumor weight were significantly reduced in rTCS-treated or rTCS/IL-2-treated nude mice bearing PC3 xenograft tumor compared with control. And significant difference was also found between rTCS and rTCS/IL-2 group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that rTCS is a potential agent with high in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity on PC3 cells. And rTCS combined with IL-2 is a promising strategy in treating patients with prostate cancer in future.

[Effect of antiviral treatment on expression of programmed death 1 and programmed death ligand 1 on peripheral T lymphocytes in patients with chronic hepatitis C].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes in programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on peripheral blood T lymphocytes of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) over the 24 weeks course of antiviral therapy. METHODS: Twenty-four CHC patients administered 24 weeks of combination antiviral therapy with pegylated-interferon-alpha-2a (Peg-IFNa-2a) and ribavirin (RBV) were enrolled for study from the Nanjing Second Hospital between October 2008 and October 2011. Peripheral blood was collected before treatment initiation, at treatment weeks 4, 12 and 24, and post-treatment week 24 (to investigate sustained virologic response (SVR), and used to measure expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes by flow cytometry, load of serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and level of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) by auto-biochemical analyzer. Intergroup differences were analyzed by the two-sample t-test, and the significance of differences between pre- and post-treatment measurements was determined by one-way or two-way repeated measurements analysis of variance tests. RESULTS: At treatment week 4, 19 of the CHC patients were HCV RNA-negative. Among those patients the PD-1 expression on both T lymphocyte subsets showed a significant decrease from pre-treatment to post-treatment week 24 (CD4+: 18.6 +/- 6.1% vs. 10.3 +/- 7.7%, F = 12.406, P = 0.002; CD8+: 16.6 +/- 13.8% vs. 9.4 +/- 4.6%, F = 4.955, P = 0.039). However, the CD8+ lymphocyte subset showed significant increase in PD-L1 expression during treatment (pre-treatment: 17.5 +/- 13.7% vs. treatment week 4: 25.9 +/- 11.1%, F = 9.063, P less than 0.01; 12: 29.6 +/- 15.1%, F = 8.365, P less than 0.01; 24: 32.0 +/- 15.7%, F = 9.736, P less than 0.01). Among the five CHC patients showing HCV RNA-positivity at treatment week 4 there was only a significant difference observed in the increased expression of PD-L1 on CD8+ lymphocyte subset from pre-treatment to treatment week 24 (17.4 +/- 16.7% vs. 39.2 +/- 15.6%, F = 10.292, P = 0.033). Twenty of the CHC patients achieved SVR. among whom the PD-1 expression was significantly decreased during treatment on the CD4+ lymphocyte subset (pre-treatment: 20.2 +/- 7.5% vs. treatment week 4: 14.4 +/- 7.5%, F = 6.133, P less than 0.05; 12: 14.0 +/- 6.9%, F = 5.541, P less than 0.05; 24: 10.7 +/- 7.6%, F = 14.780, P less than 0.05) and on the CD8+ lymphocyte subset (pre-treatment: 16.8 +/- 13.4% vs. treatment week 12: 10.2 +/- 4.6%, F = 4.964, P less than 0.05; 24: 10.1 +/- 4.9%, F = 4.613, P less than 0.05). Additionally, the PD-L1 expression was significantly increased during treatment on the CD8+ lymphocyte subset (pre-treatment: 19.0 +/- 14.5% vs. treatment week 12: 30.8 +/- 16.6%, F = 6.442, P = 0.020; 24: 35.2 +/- 16.5%, F = 12.349, P = 0.002). Among the four CHC patients who relapsed there were no significant differences observed in the expressions of PD-1 or PD-L1 on the CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: The standard Peg-IFNa-2a + RBV combination antiviral therapy reduces PD-1 expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and increases PD-L1 expression on CD8+ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood. The clinical outcome of CHC patients may be related to the antiviral therapy-induced changes in expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1 on T lymphocytes.

[Migraine without aura treated by comprehensive auricular acupuncture: a multicentral controlled study].

OBJECTIVE: To assess objectively the efficacy of migraine without aura treated by comprehensive auricular acupuncture. METHODS: Ninty patients of migraine without aura from three centers were selected as the observation subjects. Thirty cases from each center were treated with the comprehensive auricular acupuncture. This therapy included the retroauricular venous bleeding on the ears, the autologous blood injection at Fengchi (GB 20) and Yanglingquan (GB 34) and bleeding at the Nie (temporal), Zhen (occiput), Yidan (pancreas), Shenmen, Pizhixia (subcortex) and Neifenmi (endocrine) of auricular point. The therapy was applied once every 7-10 days. The continuous 3 treatments made one session. RESULTS: At the end of one session for the patients in three centers, the headache scores were reduced apparently as compared with those before treatment (all P< 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in comparison among three centers (all P>0.05). The clinical total effective rates were 93.3% (28/30), 90.0% (27/30) and 93.3% (28/30) in three centers separately. There was no obvious difference in the efficacy in comparison among three centers (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The comprehensive auricular acupuncture reduces apparently the headache score for migraine without aura and relieves the clinical symptoms of migraine. It is the simple and effective therapy for migraine without aura.

[Suppressive effect of induced CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells from mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the suppressive effect of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells from mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum. METHODS: BALB/c mice were infected with S. japonicum. At 6 and 13 weeks post-infection, the spleens were removed and CD4+CD25+ T cells were separated by magnetic beads. In in vitro experiments, CD4+CD25+ T Cells were cocultured with CD4+CD25- T cells. The inhibitory role of the CD4+CD25+ T cells was assessed by [3H] thymidine incorporation method and the cytokines in the cultural supernatant were detected by ELISA. In in vivo experiments, mice inoculated with irradiated cercariae of S. japonicum were adoptively transferred with CD4+CD25+ T cells isolated from the mice chronically infected with S. japonicum. The intracellular cytokine expressions of splenocytes were performed by flow cytometry, and sera IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies against irradiated cercaria antigens were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: In vitro, CD4+CD25+ T cells were able to suppress the proliferation of CD4+CD25- T cells when stimulated with SEA, compared with single CD4+CD25- T cells culture (cpm 7615 +/- 1 058) (P < 0.01). Furthermore, CD4+CD25+ T cells isolated from mice chronically infected with S. japonicum presented higher suppressive efficacy (cpm 2 336 +/- 490), compared with that isolated from the acutely infected mice (cmp 4 467 +/- 144) (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, CD4+CD25+ T cells isolated from mice with the acute infection inhibited the cytokine secretion by CD4+CD25- T cells and the suppression rate was 32.0% for IL-4 (P < 0.05), 66.3% for IFN-gamma (P < 0.01) and 63.2% for IL-2 (P < 0.01), respectively, and CD4+CD25+ T cells isolated from mice with the chronic infection, the suppression rate was 28.4% for IL-4 (P < 0.05), 60.1% for IFN-gamma (P < 0.01) and 58.3% for IL-2 (P < 0.01), respectively. In vivo, IFN-gamma secretion and IgG2a antibody production of mice adoptively transferred with CD4+CD25+ T cells from the chronically infected mice were suppressed when mice were inoculated with irradiated cercariae of S. japonicum (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CD4+CD25+ T cells isolated from mice infected with S. japonicum have played roles of Th1-dominant immune suppression.

Dynamics of CD4+CD25+ T cells in spleens and mesenteric lymph nodes of mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum.

CD4+CD25+ T cells play a major role in modulating immune response, but few reports have been published about schistosomiasis. Here, we investigated the changes in CD4+CD25+ T cell populations in spleens and mesenteric lymph nodes of mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum. The proportions of CD4+CD25+ T cells in total CD4+ T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. CD25 and Foxp3 expression was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The suppressive activities of CD4+CD25+ T cells were detected by in vitro proliferation of splenocytes. Evidence showed that the percentage of CD4+CD25+ T cells was the same as controls 3 weeks post-infection. At the acute stage of infection, the percentage decreased significantly. However, at the chronic stage of infection, it rebounded to normal levels or even higher. The expression of the CD25 and Foxp3 showed gradual increase along with the infection progress. In vitro experiment also showed the strong suppressive effect of CD4+CD25+ T cells, isolated during the chronic stage, on proliferation of the CD25- splenocytes. This is the first time that the dynamics of CD4+CD25+ T cell populations was demonstrated in mice infected with schistosomiasis. In conclusion, our data indicated that CD4+CD25+ cells might be involved in the immune modulation during S. japonicum infection, which enhances current knowledge of the mechanisms of the immuno-downregulation and re-infection in schistosomiasis.