Department of Aerospace Medicine Aerospace Biodynamics, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Department of Ship Hygiene, Faculty of Navy Medicine, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Acupunct Med. 2018 Jun;36(3):153-161. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2016-011202. Epub 2018 Feb 7.
Acupuncture has been widely used for the treatment of motion sickness (MS), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim of this research was to study the mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of MS.
To observe the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of MS, 80 rats were randomised into five groups that were subjected to acceleration and either remained untreated (CTRL), or received restraint (REST), scopolamine (SCOP) or acupuncture at SP4 (sham) or PC6+ST36 (verum) acupuncture points. To study the mechanism underlying the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of MS, 48 rats were randomised into three groups: acupuncture+extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) 1/2 inhibitor (ERKinh), acupuncture+insulin receptor (IR) antagonist (IRant), and acupuncture+vehicle (VEH). After acceleration, the MS index (MSI) and spontaneous activity (SA) of the rats were recorded. Serum stress hormones, Fos-positive cells, c-fos mRNA in the vestibular nucleus, and IRβ-, p-IRβ-, ERK1/2- and p-ERK1/2-positive cells in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMV) were detected.
After acceleration, MS symptoms in the PC6+ST36 and SCOP groups were reduced compared with the CTRL, REST, and SP4 groups. The number of p-IRβ- and p-ERK1/2-positive cells and insulin levels were higher in the PC6+ST36 group than in the CTRL, REST, and SP4 groups. After ERK1/2 inhibitor and IR antagonist treatment, MS symptoms in the VEH group were lower than in the ERKinh and IRant groups.
Our study demonstrates that acupuncture significantly alleviates MS through the IRβ-ERK1/2-dependent insulin receptor signalling pathway in the DMV.
针灸已广泛用于治疗运动病（MS），但其潜在机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在研究针灸治疗 MS 的机制。
为了观察针灸治疗 MS 的效果，将 80 只大鼠随机分为五组，分别接受加速刺激，未治疗（CTRL）、束缚（REST）、东莨菪碱（SCOP）或 SP4（假）或 PC6+ST36（真）穴位针刺。为研究针灸治疗 MS 作用的机制，将 48 只大鼠随机分为三组：针刺+细胞外调节蛋白激酶（ERK）1/2 抑制剂（ERKinh）、针刺+胰岛素受体（IR）拮抗剂（IRant）和针刺+载体（VEH）。加速后，记录大鼠的 MS 指数（MSI）和自发活动（SA）。检测血清应激激素、前庭核 Fos 阳性细胞、c-fos mRNA 和迷走神经背核 IRβ-、p-IRβ-、ERK1/2-和 p-ERK1/2 阳性细胞。
加速后，PC6+ST36 组和 SCOP 组的 MS 症状较 CTRL、REST 和 SP4 组减轻。PC6+ST36 组 p-IRβ-和 p-ERK1/2 阳性细胞数和胰岛素水平高于 CTRL、REST 和 SP4 组。ERK1/2 抑制剂和 IR 拮抗剂处理后，VEH 组 MS 症状低于 ERKinh 和 IRant 组。
本研究表明，针刺通过迷走神经背核的 IRβ-ERK1/2 依赖性胰岛素受体信号通路显著缓解 MS。
