title: Gene Expression Profile of the Hypothalamus in DNP-KLH Immunized Mice Following Electroacupuncture Stimulation.
abstract: Clinical evidence indicates that electroacupuncture (EA) is effective for allergic disorder. Recent animal studies have shown that EA treatment reduces levels of IgE and Th2 cytokines in BALB/c mice immunized with 2,4-dinitrophenylated keyhole limpet protein (DNP-KLH). The hypothalamus, a brain center of the neural-immune system, is known to be activated by EA stimulation. This study was performed to identify and characterize the differentially expressed genes in the hypothalamus of DNP-KLH immunized mice that were stimulated with EA or only restrained. To this aim, we conducted a microarray analysis to evaluate the global gene expression profiles, using the hypothalamic RNA samples taken from three groups of mice: (i) normal control group (no treatments); (ii) IMH group (DNP-KLH immunization + restraint); and (iii) IMEA group (immunization + EA stimulation). The microarray analysis revealed that total 39 genes were altered in their expression levels by EA treatment. Ten genes, including T-cell receptor alpha variable region family 13 subfamily 1 (Tcra-V13.1), heat shock protein 1B (Hspa1b) and 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase 1F (Oas1f), were up-regulated in the IMEA group when compared with the IMH group. In contrast, 29 genes, including decay accelerating factor 2 (Daf2), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, quinone 1 (Nqo1) and programmed cell death 1 ligand 2 (Pdcd1lg2) were down-regulated in the IMEA group as compared with the IMH group. These results suggest that EA treatment can modulate immune response in DNP-KLH immunized mice by regulating expression levels of genes that are associated with innate immune, cellular defense and/or other kinds of immune system in the hypothalamus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, #1 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Kwang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeungshin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eunjung
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Hyunseong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Deok-Sang
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Sanghoon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yonghyeon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Byung-Il
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Sangsoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Hyunsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bae