Li Hongjin, Doorenbos Ardith Z, Xia Yinglin, Sun Jun, Choi Hannah, Harris Richard E, Gao Shuang, Sullivan Katy, Schlaeger Judith M
College of Nursing, University of Illinois Chicago, 845 S. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
University of Illinois Cancer Center, 818 South Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Metabolites. 2024 Dec 10;14(12):698. doi: 10.3390/metabo14120698.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Acupuncture is an efficacious integrative therapy for treating pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance (the psychoneurological symptom cluster) in breast cancer survivors. However, the mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear, and related metabolomics studies are limited. This study aimed to examine serum metabolite changes after acupuncture and their relationships to symptom improvement.
Forty-two breast cancer survivors experiencing pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance participated in a single-arm acupuncture trial. They received a 10-session acupuncture intervention over 5 weeks. Fasting blood samples and symptom surveys were collected before and after the acupuncture intervention, and untargeted metabolomics profiling was conducted on serum samples. Mixed-effects models adjusting for covariates (age, race, body mass index, and antidepressant use) were applied for analysis.
After acupuncture, there was a significant reduction in the psychoneurological symptom cluster (mean reduction = -6.2, < 0.001).Bonferroni correction was applied to 40 independent metabolite clusters (α = 0.00125); cysteine-glutathione disulfide ( = 0.0006) significantly increased, and retinal ( = 0.0002) and cis-urocanate ( = 0.0005) were significantly decreased. Dimethyl sulfone ( = 0.00139) showed a trend towards reduction after acupuncture and its change ( = 0.04, β =1.97) was positively associated with reduction in the psychoneurological symptom cluster. Also, increased lauroylcarnitine ( = 0.0009) and decreased cytosine ( = 0.0008) can modulate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture.
Acupuncture demonstrates beneficial effects on the psychoneurological symptom cluster in breast cancer survivors. Dimethyl sulfone may be a promising mediator in the relationship between acupuncture and psychoneurological symptoms, while acylcarnitine metabolism may modulate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture.
背景/目的：针灸是治疗乳腺癌幸存者疼痛、疲劳和睡眠障碍（精神神经症状群）的一种有效综合疗法。然而，其作用机制尚不清楚，相关代谢组学研究也很有限。本研究旨在探讨针灸后血清代谢物变化及其与症状改善的关系。
42名患有疼痛、疲劳和睡眠障碍的乳腺癌幸存者参加了一项单臂针灸试验。他们在5周内接受了10次针灸干预。在针灸干预前后采集空腹血样和症状调查问卷，并对血清样本进行非靶向代谢组学分析。采用调整协变量（年龄、种族、体重指数和抗抑郁药使用情况）的混合效应模型进行分析。
针灸后，精神神经症状群有显著减轻（平均减轻=-6.2，<0.001）。对40个独立代谢物簇应用Bonferroni校正（α=0.00125）；半胱氨酸-谷胱甘肽二硫化物（=0.0006）显著增加，视黄醛（=0.0002）和顺式尿刊酸（=0.0005）显著降低。二甲基砜（=0.00139）在针灸后呈下降趋势，其变化（=0.04，β=1.97）与精神神经症状群的减轻呈正相关。此外，月桂酰肉碱增加（=0.0009）和胞嘧啶减少（=0.0008）可调节针灸的治疗效果。
针灸对乳腺癌幸存者的精神神经症状群有有益作用。二甲基砜可能是针灸与精神神经症状之间关系中有前景的调节因子，而酰基肉碱代谢可能调节针灸的治疗效果。
