Initiation of Acupoint Molecular Mechanisms for Manual Acupuncture Analgesia-Nuclear Factor κB Signaling Pathway

Objective To identify the prominent molecular signaling in acupoints and explore their roles in initiating the analgesia effect of manual acupuncture (MA). Method A three-step study was conducted, the experiment 1 was a genome-wide analysis of the tissue at acupoint Zusanli (ST 36), including 12 Wistar rats which were divided into control, control+MA1, and control+MA7 groups. In the experiment 2, the paw withdrawal latency (PWL), immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis of phospho-nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B) p65 (p-p65), phospho-NF kappa B p50 (p-p50) at ST 36 were performed on rats of saline, saline+MA, and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)+MA groups (n=6). In experiment 3, 24 rats were divided into saline+DMSO, CFA+DMSO, CFA+DMSO+MA, and CFA+BAY 11-7082+MA groups, the PWL and immunofluorescence assay of NF kappa B p65 at ST 36 was conducted. Result (1) The gene: inhibitor of NF kappa B (Nfkbia), interleukin-1 beta (Il1b), interleukin-6 (Il6), chemokine c-x-c motif ligand 1 (Cxcl1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/Ccl2) expressions in the control+MA7 group were significantly increased (P0.05 or P0.01), and the expression of NF kappa B p65 (Rela), NF kappa B p50 (Nfkb1) were increased in the control+MA7 group (P0.05). (2) CFA+MA groups showed increased PWL from day 1 to 7 (P0.01 vs. CFA), and the Western blot results were consistent with immunohistochemistry, the expression of NF kappa B p-p65 and NF kappa B p-p50 were significantly increased in the MA-related groups compared with control and CFA groups (P0.05). (3) Compared with the CFA+DMSO+MA group, the PWL of the CFA+ BAY 11-7082+MA group decreased significantly and continued until day 5 and 7 (P0.05 and P0.01, respectively), and the NF kappa B p65 expression of CFA+BAY 11-7082+MA was significantly reduced compared with CFA+DMSO+MA (P0.01). Conclusion Local NF kappa B signaling cascade in acupoint caused by MA is an important step in initiating the analgesic effect, which would provide new evidence for the initiation of MA-effect and improve the understanding of the scientific basis of acupuncture analgesia.

Automated summary

The study identified the important molecular signaling in acupoints during manual acupuncture (MA) which initiates the analgesic effect. The local NF kappa B signaling cascade in the acupoint caused by MA is crucial for the analgesic effect, providing new evidence and improving understanding of the scientific basis of acupuncture analgesia.