Acupuncture and Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Acupuncture and Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea; BioNanocomposite Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
J Integr Med. 2024 Sep;22(5):600-613. doi: 10.1016/j.joim.2024.07.004. Epub 2024 Jul 20.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that may be linked to changes in the gut microbiome. Acupuncture has been proven to be effective in reducing AD symptoms without serious adverse events, but its underlying mechanism is not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the potential effect of acupuncture on AD is gut microbiota-dependent.
AD-like skin lesions were induced by applying MC903 topically to the cheek of the mouse. Acupuncture was done at the Gok-Ji (LI11) acupoints. AD-like symptoms were assessed by lesion scores, scratching behavior, and histopathological changes; intestinal barrier function was measured by fecal output, serum lipopolysaccharide levels, histopathological changes, and mRNA expression of markers involved in intestinal permeability and inflammation. Gut microbiota was profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing from fecal samples.
Acupuncture effectively improved chronic itch as well as the AD-like skin lesions with epidermal thickening, and also significantly altered gut microbiota structure as revealed by β-diversity indices and analysis of similarities. These beneficial effects were eliminated by antibiotic depletion of gut microbiota, but were reproduced in gut microbiota-depleted mice that received a fecal microbiota transplant from acupuncture-treated mice. Interestingly, AD mice had intestinal barrier dysfunction as indicated by increased intestinal permeability, atrophy of the mucosal structure (reduced villus height and crypt depth), decreased expression of tight junctions and mucus synthesis genes, and increased expression of inflammatory mediators in the ileum. Acupuncture attenuated these abnormalities, which was gut microbiota-dependent.
Acupuncture ameliorates AD-like phenotypes in a gut microbiota-dependent manner and some of these positive benefits are explained by modulation of the intestinal barrier, providing new perspective for non-pharmacological strategies for modulating gut microbiota to prevent and treat AD. Please cite this article as: Yeom M, Ahn S, Hahm DH, Jang SY, Jang SH, Park SY, Jang JH, Park J, Oh JY, Lee IS, Kim K, Kwon SK, Park HJ. Acupuncture ameliorates atopic dermatitis by modulating gut barrier function in a gut microbiota-dependent manner in mice. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(5): 600-613.
特应性皮炎（AD）是一种慢性炎症性皮肤病，可能与肠道微生物组的变化有关。针灸已被证明可有效减轻 AD 症状，且无严重不良事件，但其潜在机制尚不完全清楚。本研究旨在探讨针灸对 AD 的潜在作用是否依赖于肠道微生物群。
通过在小鼠脸颊涂抹 MC903 诱导 AD 样皮肤损伤，然后在 Gok-Ji（LI11）穴位进行针灸。通过损伤评分、抓挠行为和组织病理学变化评估 AD 样症状；通过粪便排出量、血清脂多糖水平、组织病理学变化和参与肠道通透性和炎症的标志物的 mRNA 表达来测量肠道屏障功能。使用粪便样本中的 16S rRNA 基因测序来描绘肠道微生物群。
针灸可有效改善慢性瘙痒以及表皮增厚的 AD 样皮肤损伤，还可通过β多样性指数和相似性分析显著改变肠道微生物群结构。这些有益作用被肠道微生物群耗竭的抗生素消除，但在接受针灸治疗小鼠粪便微生物群移植的肠道微生物群耗竭小鼠中重现。有趣的是，AD 小鼠存在肠道屏障功能障碍，表现为肠道通透性增加、黏膜结构萎缩（绒毛高度和隐窝深度降低）、紧密连接和黏液合成基因表达减少以及回肠中炎症介质表达增加。针灸减轻了这些异常，这是依赖于肠道微生物群的。
针灸以肠道微生物群依赖的方式改善 AD 样表型，其中一些积极的益处是通过调节肠道屏障来解释的，为非药物策略调节肠道微生物群以预防和治疗 AD 提供了新视角。请引用本文作为：Yeom M, Ahn S, Hahm DH, Jang SY, Jang SH, Park SY, Jang JH, Park J, Oh JY, Lee IS, Kim K, Kwon SK, Park HJ. Acupuncture ameliorates atopic dermatitis by modulating gut barrier function in a gut microbiota-dependent manner in mice. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(5): 600-613.
