Multicentric Post-graduation Program in Physiological Sciences, Federal University of Pampa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Department of Physiological Sciences, Center for Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Neurobiology of Pain and Inflammation, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Acupunct Med. 2021 Aug;39(4):376-384. doi: 10.1177/0964528420938379. Epub 2020 Aug 2.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins are activators of innate immunity inducing infection and inflammatory responses. Anti-inflammatory drugs can have undesirable side effects. Acupuncture may be an alternative for the treatment of inflammatory processes.
We investigated the potential anti-inflammatory effect of manual acupuncture (MA) at SP6 upon LPS-induced peritonitis in rats.
Peritonitis was induced in rats with an intraperitoneal injection of LPS (0.002, 0.02, 0.2 or 2 µg/kg) in four experimental groups (n = 6 each). A fifth group was injected with sterile saline solution (saline group, n = 6). Four hours after the procedure, peritoneal fluid was collected to determine total cell counts for inflammatory cells, differential leukocyte counts and peritoneal capillary permeability. The LPS dose of 0.02 µg/kg was used in the subsequent experiments as it most successfully induced peritoneal inflammation. Subsequently, five experimental groups (n = 12 rats each) were used: (1) saline, (2) control (untreated LPS group), (3) indomethacin (LPS group treated with indomethacin), (4) NA (LPS group treated with MA at a location not corresponding to any traditional acupuncture point), and (5) SP6 (LPS group treated with verum MA at SP6). Ten minutes after MA or 30 min after indomethacin treatment, the rats received an intraperitoneal injection of LPS. After 4 h, total leukocyte and differential cell counts, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, vascular permeability and cytokine levels were evaluated in the peritoneal fluid. Cytokine levels were additionally evaluated in the brainstem.
SP6 MA and indomethacin treatments reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, vascular permeability and MPO activity in the LPS-exposed rats. Pre-treatment with indomethacin and SP6 MA decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels and preserved interleukin (IL)-10 in the peritoneal fluid. Indomethacin also reduced IL-6 in the peritoneal fluid. In the brainstem, indomethacin reduced IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα and IL-10, whereas SP6 MA reduced only TNFα and IL-6 levels.
This study clearly demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effect of acupuncture, which we believe may involve the activation of anti-inflammatory neural reflexes in the regulation of peritonitis.
脂多糖（LPS）内毒素是先天免疫的激活物，可诱导感染和炎症反应。抗炎药物可能会产生不良的副作用。针刺可能是治疗炎症过程的一种替代方法。
我们研究了 SP6 手针（MA）对 LPS 诱导的大鼠腹膜炎的潜在抗炎作用。
在四个实验组（每组 n = 6）中，通过腹腔内注射 LPS（0.002、0.02、0.2 或 2 μg/kg）诱导腹膜炎。第五组注射无菌生理盐水（盐水组，n = 6）。程序后 4 小时，收集腹腔液以确定炎症细胞的总细胞计数、白细胞分类计数和腹膜毛细血管通透性。由于 0.02 μg/kg 的 LPS 剂量最成功地诱导了腹膜炎症，因此随后使用该剂量进行了后续实验。随后，使用五个实验组（每组 n = 12 只大鼠）：（1）盐水，（2）对照（未处理的 LPS 组），（3）吲哚美辛（用吲哚美辛处理的 LPS 组），（4）NA（用不对应于任何传统穴位的 MA 处理的 LPS 组），和（5）SP6（用 SP6 处的 verum MA 处理的 LPS 组）。在 MA 治疗后 10 分钟或吲哚美辛治疗后 30 分钟，大鼠接受 LPS 腹腔内注射。4 小时后，评估腹腔液中的总白细胞和分类细胞计数、髓过氧化物酶（MPO）活性、血管通透性和细胞因子水平。另外评估了细胞因子水平在脑干。
SP6 MA 和吲哚美辛治疗减轻了 LPS 暴露大鼠的炎症细胞浸润、血管通透性和 MPO 活性。吲哚美辛和 SP6 MA 预处理降低了腹腔液中的肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α水平并保留了白细胞介素（IL）-10。吲哚美辛还降低了腹腔液中的 IL-6。在脑干中，吲哚美辛降低了 IL-1β、IL-6、TNFα 和 IL-10，而 SP6 MA 仅降低了 TNFα 和 IL-6 水平。
这项研究清楚地表明了针刺的抗炎作用，我们认为这可能涉及通过调节腹膜炎激活抗炎神经反射。
