Regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and immunologic function contributed to the anti-inflammatory effect of acupuncture in the OVA-induced murine asthma model.
Asthma is a complex inflammatory disease of the airways and acupuncture is one of the effective therapies widely used to treat asthma in China. The aim of the study was to evaluate the regulatory role of acupuncture in airway inflammation and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in OVA-induced murine asthma model. Our results demonstrated that acupuncture was effective in suppression of AHR, inhibition of total leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte and eosinophil counts in BALF, attenuation of airway inflammation and TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-5 and eotaxin secretion. Furthermore, the HPA axis activity was also regulated by acupuncture, which included promotion of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol secretion in the plasma. Our findings revealed that acupuncture could attenuate airway inflammation and regulate HPA axis and immunologic function in the OVA-induced murine asthma model, which may provide support to better understand the contribution of acupuncture to the regulation of airway inflammation and HPA axis activity in asthma.
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Ying
Y
Wei
Gumei Community Health Center, 668 Longming Road, Shanghai, China.
Ming
M
Dong
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Second People's Hospital of Kashi, Xinjiang, China.
Ling
L
Zhong
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Jiaqi
J
Liu
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Qingli
Q
Luo
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Yubao
Y
Lv
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Shuming
S
Mo
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Jing
J
Sun
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Feng
F
Liu
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Fei
F
Xu
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China.
Chen
C
Yan
Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China; The Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University, 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: jcdong2004@126.com.
Jingcheng
J
Dong
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology
D016207:Cytokines; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D010047:Ovalbumin
Acupuncture; Asthma; HPA axis; Immunologic function; Inflammation