Yao Wei, Yang Hongwei, Yin Na, Ding Guanghong
Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Int J Biol Sci. 2014 Apr 26;10(5):511-9. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.8631. eCollection 2014.
Mast cells are found abundant at sites of acupoints. Nerve cells share perivascular localization with mast cells. Acupuncture (mechanical stimuli) can activate mast cells to release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which can activate nerve cells and modulates pain-processing pathways in response to acupuncture. In this paper, a mathematical model was constructed for describing intracellular Ca(2+) signal and ATP release in a coupled mast cell and nerve cell system induced by mechanical stimuli. The results showed mechanical stimuli lead to a intracellular Ca(2+) rise in the mast cell and ATP release, ATP diffuses in the extracellular space (ECS) and activates the nearby nerve cells, then induces electrical current in the nerve cell which spreads in the neural network. This study may facilitate our understanding of the mechanotransduction process induced by acupuncture and provide a methodology for quantitatively analyzing acupuncture treatment.
肥大细胞在穴位处大量存在。神经细胞与肥大细胞共享血管周围定位。针刺（机械刺激）可激活肥大细胞释放三磷酸腺苷（ATP），ATP可激活神经细胞并调节针刺反应中的疼痛处理通路。本文构建了一个数学模型，用于描述机械刺激诱导的肥大细胞和神经细胞耦合系统中的细胞内Ca(2+)信号和ATP释放。结果表明，机械刺激导致肥大细胞内Ca(2+)升高和ATP释放，ATP在细胞外空间（ECS）中扩散并激活附近的神经细胞，进而在神经细胞中诱导电流，该电流在神经网络中传播。本研究可能有助于我们理解针刺诱导的机械转导过程，并为定量分析针刺治疗提供一种方法。
