Moxibustion and Acupuncture Ameliorate Crohn's Disease by Regulating the Balance between Th17 and Treg Cells in the Intestinal Mucosa.
Previous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture is beneficial to patients with Crohn's disease (CD), but the mechanism underlying its therapeutic effects remains unclear. To identify the mechanism by which acupuncture treats CD, the balance between Th17 and Treg cells was assessed in CD patients. In this study, Ninety-two CD patients were randomly and equally assigned to a treatment group that were treated with herb-partitioned moxibustion and acupuncture or a control group with wheat bran-partitioned moxibustion and superficial acupuncture. The effect of these treatments on Th17 and Treg cells and their related molecular markers in the intestinal mucosa were detected before (week 0) and after (week 12) treatment. The results suggested that the ratio of Th17 and Treg cells was significantly decreased after treatment and that the levels of IL-17 and RORγt in the intestinal mucosa were obviously reduced, while the expression of FOXP3 was increased after treatment in both groups. In the treatment group, the expression of these molecules was more markedly regulated than the control group. In conclusion, moxibustion and acupuncture have been shown to regulate the ratio of Th17 and Treg cells in the intestinal mucosa of CD patients and restore the balance between these immune cell subsets.
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Chen
C
Zhao
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Chunhui
C
Bao
Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China.
Jing
J
Li
Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Shengzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang 312400, China.
Yifang
Y
Zhu
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Siyao
S
Wang
Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Ling
L
Yang
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Yin
Y
Shi
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Huirong
H
Liu
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Chuanzi
C
Dou
Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China ; Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai 201203, China.
Guanghong
G
Ding
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Xiaomei
X
Wang
Key Laboratory of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Immunological Effects, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
Huangan
H
Wu