Department of Acupuncture and Massage College, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 79 Chongshan East Road, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110847, People's Republic of China.
Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150036, People's Republic of China.
Inflammation. 2018 Jun;41(3):741-750. doi: 10.1007/s10753-017-0726-y.
Acupuncture was proven beneficial in treating allergic inflammation. We aimed to explore the regulation underlying the effects of acupuncture on Feishu, an acupoint most commonly used in the acupuncture therapy for respiratory diseases, with respect to the system of sympathetic nerve neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Ach). Male Wistar rats were randomly grouping. No treatment was taken in the normal group. Allergic asthma was induced using ovalbumin on the model, Feishu acupuncture, and sham acupuncture groups; then control or acupuncture treatment lasting for 3 weeks was performed. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from the four groups was examined. And pulmonary tissues were subjected to histological analysis with H&E staining; besides, immunofluorescent staining, quantitative PCR, and western blot were used to detect synthetase (ChAT) and Ach hydrolase (AchE), and its muscarinic receptors (mAchRs) M1-M3. There was inflammatory infiltration in the lung upon allergic asthma, which was alleviated by the Feishu acupuncture. The eosinophilic granulocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in BALF from the Feishu acupuncture group were all significantly decreased compared with those of the model and sham acupuncture groups. The specific acupuncture on Feishu upon allergic asthma put down the pulmonary expression of ChAT, repaired at the level of gene expression the pulmonary expression of mAchR M1, and restored the pulmonary expression of mAchR M2 (especially in the bronchiolar epithelium) which has a role in inhibiting Ach release; while sham acupuncture had no effect. These results confirmed the therapeutic effects of Feishu acupuncture on allergic asthma, suggesting that the mechanisms may involve suppression of the Ach signal both from its synthesis and during its release.
针刺在治疗过敏炎症方面被证明是有益的。我们旨在探索针刺肺俞穴（针刺治疗呼吸系统疾病最常用的穴位之一）对交感神经递质乙酰胆碱（Ach）系统的调节作用。雄性 Wistar 大鼠随机分组。正常组不做任何处理。在模型组、针刺组和假针刺组中用卵清蛋白诱导过敏性哮喘；然后进行对照或针刺治疗，持续 3 周。检查四组支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）。对肺组织进行 H&E 染色的组织学分析；此外，通过免疫荧光染色、定量 PCR 和 Western blot 检测 ChAT 和 AchE 的合成酶，及其毒蕈碱受体（mAchR）M1-M3。过敏性哮喘时肺部有炎症浸润，肺俞穴针刺可缓解。与模型组和假针刺组相比，肺俞穴针刺组 BALF 中的嗜酸性粒细胞、中性粒细胞和淋巴细胞均显著减少。过敏性哮喘时，特定的肺俞穴针刺下调了 ChAT 的肺表达，在基因表达水平上修复了 mAchR M1 的肺表达，并恢复了 mAchR M2 的肺表达（尤其是在细支气管上皮中），从而抑制 Ach 的释放；而假针刺则没有效果。这些结果证实了肺俞穴针刺治疗过敏性哮喘的疗效，提示其机制可能涉及抑制 Ach 信号的合成和释放。
