Influence of needling the foot-yangming points on intracellular Ca2+ concentration in smooth muscles of the gastric antrum in rabbits.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of acupuncture at the points of Foot-Yangming Meridian on intracellular concentration of Ca2, called the 2nd messenger of gastric smooth muscles.


METHODS
45 rabbits were randomly divided into the following 5 groups: a normal saline group, a model group treated with atropine, an acupuncture group treated by needling the points of Foot-Yangming Meridian, an acupuncture group treated by needling the points of Foot-Shaoyang Meridian, an acupuncture group treated by needling the points of Foot-Taiyang Meridian, i.e. 9 rabbits in each group. After treatment, the smooth muscles of the gastric antrum were taken to make the suspension containing alive single muscular cells, and the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) was determined by a spectrofluorometer.


RESULTS
The concentration of [Ca2+]i in the group of Foot-Yangming Meridian was obviously higher than that of the atropine group (P<0.01), but with no significant differences found among all the other groups (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The influence of acupuncture at the points of Foot-Yangming Meridian on gastric movement is related to the release of intracellular Ca2+ in the gastric smooth muscles.
Deng
Yuanjiang
Y
Teaching and Research Section for Experimental Acupuncture, Department of Acupuncture and Massage, Hunan TCM College, Changsha 410007, China.
Yi
Shouxiang
S
Lin
Yaping
Y
Yan
Jie
J
Guo
Hui
H
Xiang
Zhiyong
Z
Wu
Fang
F
Liu
Weiying
W
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000378:metabolism*; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation
D002118:Calcium