Altern Ther Health Med. 2022 Nov;28(8):30-37.
Slow transit constipation (STC) has a high incidence worldwide, which not only seriously affects patients' normal lives but also may cause malignant intestinal lesions. Among the limited treatment options for STC, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is considered to be the key to STC treatment in the future.
The study intended to examine the impacts of acupuncture plus acupoint application on MAPK and ERK in STC rats, with the aim of preliminarily exploring the relevant mechanisms for treating STC as well as providing new ideas and means for future clinical treatment.
The research team designed a randomized, controlled animal study.
The study was carried out at department of Department of Rehabilitation, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
The animals were 30 six-to-eight-week-old, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, half male and half female and weighing a mean of 200 ± 20 g.
The rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups, 10 rats in each group: a negative control group that wasn't induced with STC and received no treatments; a positive control group, the model group (MG), that was induced with STC and received no treatments; and an intervention group that was induced with STC and received the investigated treatments. The intervention group was treated with acupuncture at Tianshu point (ST25) and received acupoint application from Chinese medicine.
The study measured the alterations in the rats' body weight and feces, as well as the rats' intestinal motility, using intragastric administration of activated carbon. The rats were killed to obtain their intestinal tissues, for measuring expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) using Western blotting and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Postintervention, at 28 days after induction of STC, the rats' weights weren't significantly different in the intervention and control groups (P > .05) but were significantly higher than that in the model group (P < .05). The rats' weights in the intervention and control groups gradually increased significantly, while those in the model group gradually decreased significantly (P < .05). The defecation volume and fecal water content (FWS) decreased in the significantly model group but increased significantly in the intervention group (P < .05). The intestinal motility test revealed no significant differences in the propulsion rate between the intervention and control groups (P > .05), but the rate was significantly lower in the model group than that of the intervention group (P < .05). The intestinal fecal residue in the model group was the highest among the three groups, followed in descending order by the intervention group and the control group, with the differences being statistically significant (P < .05). In addition, the MAPK and ERK in the model group significantly increased, and the values were significantly higher in the intervention group than those of the model group (P < .05).
Acupuncture plus acupoint application can validly improve the defecation and intestinal motility of STC rats, possibly through inhibiting MAPK and ERK.
慢传输型便秘（STC）在全球范围内发病率较高，不仅严重影响患者的正常生活，还可能导致恶性肠道病变。在 STC 有限的治疗选择中，传统中医（TCM）被认为是未来治疗 STC 的关键。
本研究旨在探讨针刺加穴位敷贴对 STC 大鼠 MAPK 和 ERK 的影响，初步探讨治疗 STC 的相关机制，为今后的临床治疗提供新的思路和手段。
研究团队设计了一项随机对照动物研究。
中国浙江省宁波市宁波大学医学院附属医院康复科。
30 只 6 至 8 周龄、雌雄各半的 Sprague Dawley（SD）大鼠，平均体重 200±20 g。
大鼠随机分为三组，每组 10 只：未诱导 STC 且未接受治疗的阴性对照组；未诱导 STC 但接受治疗的阳性对照组（MG）；接受针刺天枢穴（ST25）和中药穴位敷贴治疗的干预组。
通过胃内给予活性炭来测量大鼠的体重和粪便变化，以及大鼠的肠道运动。处死大鼠获取其肠道组织，通过 Western blot 和聚合酶链反应（PCR）测量丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）和细胞外信号调节激酶（ERK）的表达。
STC 诱导后 28 天，干预组和对照组大鼠体重无显著差异（P＞0.05），但均显著高于模型组（P＜0.05）。干预组和对照组大鼠体重逐渐显著增加，而模型组大鼠体重逐渐显著下降（P＜0.05）。模型组大鼠排便量和粪便含水量（FWS）显著减少，而干预组大鼠排便量和粪便含水量显著增加（P＜0.05）。肠道蠕动试验结果显示，干预组和对照组大鼠的推进率无显著差异（P＞0.05），但模型组大鼠的推进率显著低于干预组（P＜0.05）。模型组大鼠肠道粪便残渣最多，其次是干预组和对照组，差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。此外，模型组 MAPK 和 ERK 显著增加，且干预组明显高于模型组（P＜0.05）。
针刺加穴位敷贴可有效改善 STC 大鼠的排便和肠道运动功能，可能通过抑制 MAPK 和 ERK 实现。
