Molecular changes in remote tissues induced by electro-acupuncture stimulation at acupoint ST36.
To investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment on regions remote from the application, we measured cellular, enzymatic, and transcriptional activities in various internal tissues of healthy rats. The EA was applied to the well-identified acupoint ST36 of the leg. After application, we measured the activity of natural killer cells in the spleen, gene expression in the hypothalamus, and the activities of antioxidative enzymes in the hypothalamus, liver and red blood cells. The EA treatment increased natural killer cell activity in the spleen by approximately 44%. It also induced genes related to pain, including 5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) receptor 3a (Htr3a) and Endothelin receptor type B (Ednrb) in the hypothalamus, and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase in the hypothalamus, liver, and red blood cells. These findings indicate that EA mediates its effects through changes in cellular activity, gene expression, and enzymatic activity in multiple remote tissues. The sum of these alterations may explain the beneficial effects of EA.
Rho
Sam-Woong
SW
College of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul 130-701, Korea.
Choi
Gi-Soon
GS
Ko
Eun-Jung
EJ
Kim
Sun-Kwang
SK
Lee
Young-Seop
YS
Lee
Hye-Jung
HJ
Hong
Moo-Chang
MC
Shin
Min-Kyu
MK
Min
Byung-Il
BI
Kee
Hyun-Jung
HJ
Lee
Cheol-Koo
CK
Bae
Hyun-Su
HS
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000201:enzymology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009928:Organ Specificity; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015854:Up-Regulation
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase