MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210095, China.
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai Veterinary Institute, Shanghai 200241, China.
Microsc Microanal. 2023 Jun 9;29(3):1190-1204. doi: 10.1093/micmic/ozad028.
Acupuncture can ameliorate or treat diseases according to the meridian theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM); however, its mechanism has not been scientifically clarified. On the other hand, telocytes (TCs) are morphologically in accordance with the meridian system, which needs further cytological investigations and acupuncture confirmation. The present study showed that acupuncture could activate TCs in several ways, alleviating rabbit ulcerative colitis. TCs could cytologically communicate the acupoints, the acupuncture sites in skin with their corresponding large intestine by TC homo-cellular junctions, exosomes around TCs, and TC-mediated nerves or blood vessels. TCs expressed transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4, the mechanosensitive channel protein that can transduce the mechanical stimulation of acupuncture into biochemical signals transferring along the extremely thin and long TCs. Collectively, a cellular mechanism diagram of acupuncture was concluded based on TC characteristics. Those results also confirmed the viewpoint that TCs were the key cells of meridian essence in TCM.
针灸可以根据中医经络理论来改善或治疗疾病；然而，其机制尚未得到科学阐明。另一方面，间质细胞（TCs）在形态上与经络系统一致，需要进一步的细胞学研究和针灸确认。本研究表明，针灸可以通过几种方式激活 TCs，从而缓解兔溃疡性结肠炎。TCs 可以通过 TC 同源细胞连接、TC 周围的外泌体以及 TCs 介导的神经或血管，在细胞学上实现穴位与皮肤中的针灸部位与其相应大肠之间的通讯。TCs 表达瞬时受体电位香草素 4，这是一种机械敏感通道蛋白，可以将针灸的机械刺激转化为沿着极其细长的 TCs 传递的生化信号。综上所述，根据 TCs 的特征，总结出了针灸的细胞机制图。这些结果也证实了 TCs 是中医经络实质的关键细胞这一观点。
