电针减轻小鼠纤维肌痛相关中枢神经系统中TRPV1的过表达。

Electroacupuncture Mitigates TRPV1 Overexpression in the Central Nervous System Associated with Fibromyalgia in Mice.

作者信息

Anh Doan Thi Ngoc, Lin Yi-Wen

机构信息

College of Chinese Medicine, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.

Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.

出版信息

Life (Basel). 2024 Dec 4;14(12):1605. doi: 10.3390/life14121605.

DOI:10.3390/life14121605

PMID:39768313

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11678918/

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by chronic pain, significantly affecting the quality of life and functional capabilities of patients. In addition to pain, patients may experience insomnia, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, and headaches, further complicating their overall well-being. The Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor responds to various noxious stimuli and plays a key role in regulating pain sensitivity and inflammation. Thus, targeting TRPV1 may provide analgesic and anti-inflammatory benefits. This study investigates the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) in alleviating chronic pain in FM through TRPV1 and its downstream molecules in the central nervous system (CNS).

METHODS

To model FM, we subjected mice to intermittent cold stress (ICS) for three days. The study comprised five rodent groups: Control (CON), ICS, ICS + EA, ICS + Sham EA, and ICS + KO (TRPV1 knockout mice).

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that ICS induced allodynia and hyperalgesia in mice by day four, persisting until day 21. EA at 2 Hz and TRPV1 KO significantly decreased both mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity (Withdrawal-Day 14: 2.43 ± 0.19 g; Day 21: 5.88 ± 0.47 g, n = 6, < 0.05; Latency-Day 14: 2.77 ± 0.22 s; Day 21: 5.85 ± 0.41 s, n = 6, < 0.05). In contrast, sham EA did not produce significant effects. Additionally, TRPV1 and several pain-related proteins were significantly elevated in the thalamus, somatosensory cortex (SSC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum regions V (CB V), VI (CB VI) and VII (CB VII) after the ICS model. Both EA at the ST36 acupoint and TRPV1 KO mice showed diminished overexpression of pain-related proteins, with the sham EA group showing no significant changes compared to the ICS group.

CONCLUSIONS

Chronic widespread pain was reduced by EA and TRPV1 KO, with the effects of EA on the TRPV1 pain pathway clearly evident in the CNS after 21 days.

摘要

背景

纤维肌痛（FM）的特征是慢性疼痛，严重影响患者的生活质量和功能能力。除疼痛外，患者还可能经历失眠、慢性疲劳、抑郁、焦虑和头痛，进一步使他们的整体健康状况复杂化。瞬时受体电位香草酸受体1（TRPV1）对各种有害刺激作出反应，并在调节疼痛敏感性和炎症中起关键作用。因此，靶向TRPV1可能具有镇痛和抗炎作用。本研究通过TRPV1及其在中枢神经系统（CNS）中的下游分子，探讨电针（EA）缓解FM慢性疼痛的疗效。

方法

为建立FM模型，我们让小鼠接受为期三天的间歇性冷应激（ICS）。该研究包括五个啮齿动物组：对照组（CON）、ICS组、ICS + EA组、ICS +假电针组和ICS + KO组（TRPV1基因敲除小鼠）。

结果

我们的研究结果显示，到第4天，ICS诱导小鼠出现痛觉过敏和痛觉超敏，并持续到第21天。2Hz的电针和TRPV1基因敲除显著降低了机械性和热超敏反应（撤针第14天：2.43±0.19g；第21天：5.88±0.47g，n = 6，<0.05；潜伏期第14天：2.77±0.22s；第21天：5.85±0.41s，n = 6，<0.05）。相比之下，假电针没有产生显著效果。此外，在ICS模型后，丘脑、体感皮层（SSC）、内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC）、海马体、下丘脑、小脑V区（CB V）、VI区（CB VI）和VII区（CB VII）中，TRPV1和几种与疼痛相关的蛋白显著升高。足三里穴位电针和TRPV1基因敲除小鼠均显示与疼痛相关蛋白的过表达减少，假电针组与ICS组相比无显著变化。