Wang Yu, Hou Xun-Rui, Li Li-Hong, Zhang Yuan, Yang Hong, Liang Xin, Lu Yu-Wei
Clinical Medical College of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China.
The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004.
Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2019 Apr 25;44(4):276-81. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.180695.
To observe the effect of acupoint injection on expression of fork head/winged helix protein 3 (Foxp3), retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) in nasal mucosa and serum interleukin-17 (IL-17) level in allergic rhinitis (AR) rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of AR in terms of balancing Th17/Treg.
Thirty-two SD rats (half male and half female) were randomized into normal control, AR model, acupoint injection and non-acupoint injection groups (＝8 in each group). The AR model was established by ovalbumin sensitization. In the acupoint injection group, "Yintang" (EX-HN3) and bilateral "Yingxiang"(LI20) were selected for injection of mixture solution of dexamethasone (DEX) and transfer factor and lidocaine (0.1 mL/acupoint), once every 3 days for a total of 4 times. The non-acupoints, located at the mid-point between the "Houhai" (GV1) and "Huantiao"(GB30) on the bilateral hips and the sites 5 cm inferior to the axillary were injected with the same dose of mixture solution as that in the acupoint injection. The AR severity was assessed by cumulative quantification scoring methods (including the numbers of nose-catching and sneezes, and the amount of nasal secretions in 30 min). The expressions of Foxp3 and RORγt in the nasal mucosa were detected by immunohistochemistry. The serum IL-17 content was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)．.
The AR symptom score and serum IL-17 content were significantly higher in the AR model group than those in the normal control group (<0.05), and significantly down-regulated in the acupoint injection group (not in the non-acupoint group) relevant to the AR model group (<0.05). Following modeling, the expression levels of nasal Foxp3 protein was significantly down-regulated while that of RORγt protein markedly up-regulated in the AR model group relevant to the normal control group (<0.05), indicating an imbalance between Foxp3 and RORγt activity(<0.05). After EA intervention, the increased expression of Foxp3 and the down-regulated expression of RORγt were revised in the acupoint injection group (<0.05) but not in the non-acupoint group (>0.05). The percentage of the Foxp3 positive cells and the ratio of Foxp3/RORγt were negatively correlated with the AR symptom score(<0.05), the expression of RORγt and the content of IL-17 were positively correlated with the symptom score (<0.05)．.
Acupoint injection is able to improve symptoms of RA rats, which may be related with its function in up-regulating the level of nasal mucosal Foxp3 and suppressing the levels of nasal RORγt and serum IL-17 to correct the imbalance of Th17/Treg.
观察穴位注射对变应性鼻炎（AR）大鼠鼻黏膜叉头状/翼状螺旋转录因子3（Foxp3）、维甲酸相关孤儿受体γt（RORγt）表达及血清白细胞介素-17（IL-17）水平的影响，从Th17/Treg平衡角度探讨其改善AR的机制。
32只SD大鼠（雌雄各半）随机分为正常对照组、AR模型组、穴位注射组和非穴位注射组（每组8只）。采用卵白蛋白致敏法建立AR模型。穴位注射组选取“印堂”（EX-HN3）及双侧“迎香”（LI20）注射地塞米松（DEX）、转移因子和利多卡因混合液（0.1 mL/穴），每3天注射1次，共4次。非穴位注射组于双侧臀部“后海”（GV1）与“环跳”（GB30）中点及腋窝下5 cm处注射与穴位注射组相同剂量的混合液。采用累积定量评分法（包括30 min内抓鼻、喷嚏次数及鼻分泌物量）评估AR严重程度。采用免疫组化法检测鼻黏膜中Foxp3和RORγt的表达。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法检测血清IL-17含量。
AR模型组AR症状评分及血清IL-17含量显著高于正常对照组（P<0.05），穴位注射组（而非非穴位注射组）与AR模型组相比显著下调（P<0.05）。造模后，AR模型组鼻黏膜Foxp3蛋白表达水平显著下调，而RORγt蛋白表达显著上调，与正常对照组相比差异有统计学意义（P<0.05），提示Foxp3与RORγt活性失衡（P<0.05）。电针干预后，穴位注射组Foxp3表达增加、RORγt表达下调得到纠正（P<0.05），而非穴位注射组无明显变化（P>0.05）。Foxp3阳性细胞百分比及Foxp3/RORγt比值与AR症状评分呈负相关（P<0.05），RORγt表达及IL-17含量与症状评分呈正相关（P<0.05）。
穴位注射能够改善AR大鼠症状，可能与其上调鼻黏膜Foxp3水平、抑制鼻黏膜RORγt及血清IL-17水平以纠正Th17/Treg失衡有关。
