The anti-inflammatory effect of acupuncture and its significance in analgesia

Jin, Bonnie; Jin, Louis Lei; Jin, Guishan

doi:10.1016/j.wjam.2019.03.003

Cited by 38 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In addition, acupuncture itself is a type of local microtrauma in the tissues of acupoint area, which can activate tissue or cell anti-inflammatory effect to alleviate inflammation. 77 In this regard, recent studies have shown that EA remarkably reduces lung inflammation and the levels of ACh, AChE, IL-6 and TNF-α, indicating that the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway may mediate beneficial action of acupuncture. 42 Moreover, there are reports that EA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation through cannabinoid B2 (CB2) receptors by endocannabinoids in inflammatory pain 72 and that ROS/Nrf2 pathway mediates EA-induced amelioration of cardiopulmonary bypass-induced apoptosis and inflammation in the lung, indicating the role of redox signaling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Release and Actions of Inflammatory Exosomes in Pulmonary Emphysema: Potential Therapeutic Target of Acupuncture

Zou¹,

Bhat²,

Yuan³

et al. 2021

JIR

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Background: Exosomes have been reported to mediate activation of the inflammatory response by secretion of inflammasome products such as IL-1β or IL-18 and that changes in exosomes production or secretion may be a therapeutic target for treatment of a variety of different chronic diseases. The present study tested the hypothesis that exosome-mediated release of NLRP3 inflammasome products instigates the inflammatory response in the lung during emphysema, a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and that electroacupuncture (EA) may attenuate emphysema by inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and consequent inflammation. Methods: The COPD mice model was developed by injecting porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) via puncture tracheotomy and instillation. EA (4 Hz/20 Hz, 1 to 3 mA) was applied to the bilateral BL13 and ST36 for 30 min, once every other day for 2 weeks. Micro computed tomography (micro-CT) was performed to measure lung function. Histopathological changes in the lungs were displayed by HE staining. Results: In a mouse model of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE)-induced emphysema, the lung tissue was found to display several key features of emphysema, including alveolar septal thickening, enlarged alveoli, interstitial edema, and inflammatory cells infiltration. Lungs of mice receiving PPE exhibited substantially increased low attenuation area (LAA) in micro-CT images. The colocalization of NLRP3 vs ASC or caspase-1 detected by confocal microscopy was shown to increase in both bronchial and alveolar walls, indicating the increased formation of NLRP3 inflammasomes. IL-1β, a prototype NLRP3 inflammasome activating product, was also found to have increased in the lung during emphysema, which was colocalized with CD63 (an exosome marker), an indicative of inflammatory exosome formation. By nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), IL-1β-containing exosomes were shown to significantly increase in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from mice with emphysema. Therapeutically, IL-1β production in the lung during emphysema was significantly reduced by EA at the acupoint Feishu (BL13) and Zusanli (ST36), accompanied by decreased colocalization of NLRP3 vs ASC or caspase-1. Increased exosome release into BAL during emphysema was shown to be significantly attenuated in EA-treated mice compared to their controls. However, EA of non-specific BL23 together with ST36 acupoint had no effects on NLRP3 inflammasome activation, exosome release and associated lung pathology during emphysema. Conclusion: NLRP3 inflammasome activation in concert with increased release of exosomes containing IL-1β or other inflammasome products contributes to the development of lung inflammation and injury during PPE-induced emphysema and that EA of lung-specific acupoints attenuates inflammasome activation and exosome release, thereby reducing inflammatory response in the lung of mice with emphysema.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Release and Actions of Inflammatory Exosomes in Pulmonary Emphysema: Potential Therapeutic Target of Acupuncture

Zou¹,

Bhat²,

Yuan³

et al. 2021

JIR

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“…A recent study has revealed that acupuncture therapy can regulate the immune function through stimulating the parasympathetic pathway. 18…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel approach utilizing laser acupuncture teletherapy for management of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized clinical trial

Adly

et al. 2021

J Telemed Telecare

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Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease is a systemic progressive inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Elderly-onset RA can be assumed as a benign form of RA. Until recently, face-to-face therapeutic sessions between health professionals and patients are usually the method of its treatment. However, during pandemics, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), teletherapeutic sessions can extensively increase the patient safety especially in elderly patients who are more vulnerable to these infections. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate a novel teletherapy approach for management of elderly patients suffering from RA by utilizing laser acupuncture. Methods A teletherapy system was used for management of elderly patients suffering from RA. Sixty participants were allocated randomly into two groups and the ratio was 1:1. Patients in the first group were treated with laser acupuncture and telerehabilitation sessions, which consisted of aerobic exercise and virtual reality training. Patients in the second group received telerehabilitation sessions, which consisted of aerobic exercise and virtual reality training. Evaluation of patients was done by using the Health Assessment questionnaire (HAQ), the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire, and the analysis of interleukin-6 (IL-6), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA). Results A statistically significant difference was found in CRP, RAQoL, IL-6 and MDA between the pre- and post-treatments in the first group ( p < 0.05) favouring the post-treatment group, while the HAQ showed a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-treatments ( p < 0.05) in both groups. Statistically significant post-treatment differences were also observed between the two groups ( p < 0.05) in RAQoL, CRP, ATP and MDA, favouring the first group. Discussion Laser acupuncture teletherapy could be suggested as a reliable treatment method for elderly patients suffering from RA, as it can provide a safe and effective therapeutic approach. Teletherapy provided safer access to health professionals and patients while giving a high patient satisfaction value with a relatively lower cost (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04684693).

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“…Acupuncture is originally defined as solid metal needles pricking into skin at acupoints 20 . It is considered as a micro‐traumatic mechanical stimulus 21 using relatively small diameter (ranging from 0.20 to 0.45 mm) needles and the insertion would cause fracture and even necrosis of muscle fibers, as well as the accumulation of red blood cells, immune cells, and cell fragments in the muscle gap 22 . One Japanese research group has analyzed the tissues attached to acupuncture needles after withdrawing and found collagen fibers, cell debris of fibroblasts, and adipocyte attached to the needle, which has further confirmed acupuncture as a traumatic stimulus 23 .…”

Section: Anatomical Structure Of Acupointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The neuro-immune microenvironment of acupoints—initiation of acupuncture effectiveness

Gong

et al. 2020

Journal of Leukocyte Biology

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Acupuncture is a centuried and unfading treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been proved to exert curative effects on various disorders. Numerous works have been put in to uncover the effective mechanisms of acupuncture. And the interdependent interaction between acupuncture and acupoint microenvironment is a crucial topic. As a benign minimally invasive stimulation, the insertion and manipulation of needle at acupoint could cause deformation of local connective tissue and secretion of various molecules, such as high mobility group box 1 and ATP. The molecules are secreted into extracellular space and bind to the corresponding receptors thus active NF‐κB, MAPK, ERK pathways on mast cells, fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and monocytes/macrophages, among others. This is supposed to trigger following transcription and translation of immune factors and neural active substance, as well as promote the free ion movement (such as Ca2+ influx) and the expansion of blood vessels to recruit more immune cells to acupoint. Finally, acupuncture could enhance network connectivity of local microenvironment at acupoints. The earlier mentioned substances further act on a variety of receptors in local nerve endings, transmitting electrical and biochemical signals to the CNS, and giving full play to the acupuncture action. In conclusion, we portrayed a neuro‐immune microenvironment network of acupoints that medicates the acupuncture action, and would lay a foundation for the systematic study of the complex network relationship of acupoints in the future.

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The anti-inflammatory effect of acupuncture and its significance in analgesia

Cited by 38 publications

References 15 publications

Release and Actions of Inflammatory Exosomes in Pulmonary Emphysema: Potential Therapeutic Target of Acupuncture

Release and Actions of Inflammatory Exosomes in Pulmonary Emphysema: Potential Therapeutic Target of Acupuncture

A novel approach utilizing laser acupuncture teletherapy for management of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized clinical trial

The neuro-immune microenvironment of acupoints—initiation of acupuncture effectiveness

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