title: Acupuncture inhibits microglial activation and inflammatory events in the MPTP-induced mouse model.
abstract: Using a mouse model of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD), this study investigated on the neuroprotective effects of acupuncture by examining whether acupuncture contributed to inhibiting microglial activation and inflammatory events. C57BL/6 mice were treated with MPTP (30 mg/kg, i.p.) for 5 consecutive days. Acupuncture was then applied to acupoints Yanglingquan (GB34) and Taichong (LR3) starting 2 h after the first MPTP administration and then at 48 h intervals until the mice were sacrificed for analyses at 1, 3, and 7 days after the last MPTP injection. These experiments demonstrated that acupuncture inhibited the decreased of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity (IR) and generated a neuroprotective effects in the striatum (ST) and the substantia nigra (SN) on days 1, 3, and 7 post-MPTP injections. Acupuncture attenuated the increase of macrophage antigen complex-1 (MAC-1), a marker of microglial activation, at 1 and 3 days and reduced the increases in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression on days 1, 3, and 7. In MPTP group, striatal dopamine (DA) was measured by 46% at 7 days, whereas DA in the acupuncture group was 78%. On the basis of these results, we suggest that acupuncture could be used as a neuroprotective intervention for the purpose of inhibiting microglial activation and inflammatory events in PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Meridian and Acupoints, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea; WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, East-West Medical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Mo
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hi Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yeong Gon
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Il Hwan
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: Jae Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yong Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D026881:Acupuncture / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D005911:Gliosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D016177:Macrophage-1 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016177:Macrophage-1 Antigen; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C489691:Ptgs2 protein, rat; D004298:Dopamine