title: Local cutaneous nerve terminal and mast cell responses to manual acupuncture in acupoint LI4 area of the rats.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that the effects of manual acupuncture (MA) are contributed by collagen fibers and mast cells in local acupoints, at which acupuncture stimulation causes various afferent fiber groups to be excited. However what happens in local nerve fibers and mast cells after MA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the response of cutaneous nerve fibers and mast cells to MA stimulation in acupoint Hegu (LI4). The contralateral LI4 of the same rat was used as a non-stimulated control. Immnohistochemistry analysis were carried out to observe the expression of histamine (HA), serotonin (5-HT) and nociceptive neuropeptides, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP), in the LI4 area. Mast cells were labeled with anti-mast cell tryptase antibody and simultaneously with HA or 5-HT primary antibodies to observe their co-expression. Our results showed that SP and CGRP were expressed more highly on the cutaneous nerve fibers of LI4 after MA stimulation than that of the control. Mast cells aggregated in close proximity to the blood vessels in intra-epidermis and dermis and some of them with degranulation in the lower dermis and subcutaneous tissue of LI4. Both mast cells and their granules appeared with HA (+) and 5-HT (+) expression at stimulated L14 sites, while a few intact mast cells with a little expression of 5-HT and HA were distributed in areas of non-stimulated L14. The results indicated that local cutaneous nerve terminals and mast cells responded to MA with higher expression of SP and CGRP in nerve fibers, as well as with aggregation and degranulation of mast cells with HA and 5-HT granules at acupoint LI4. These neuroactive substances may convey signals to certain pathways that contribute to the effects of acupuncture.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: wumeiling316@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Mei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: xds402@126.com.
authors.forename: Dong-Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: wanzhubaisy@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Wan-Zhu
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: cuijing101@163.com.
authors.forename: Jing-Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, China. Electronic address: shuhongming2008@163.com.
authors.forename: Hong-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: hazel7811@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: xiaorain_wang@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: sh700330@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: suyangshuai@163.com.
authors.forename: Yang-Shuai
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: hulinlin1980@126.com.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China; Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, China. Electronic address: zhubing@mail.cintcm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: xianghongjing@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiang-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Jing
mesh_terms: D026881:Acupuncture; D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism; D006632:Histamine / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D018015:Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C491562:Crcp protein, rat; D018015:Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D012701:Serotonin; D013373:Substance P; D006632:Histamine
keywords: Calcitonin gene-related peptide; Histamine; LI4; Manual acupuncture; Mast cell; Serotonin; Substance P