Author: Lee CK, Bae HS, Rho SW, Choi GS, Ko EJ, Kim SK, Lee YS, Lee HJ, Hong MC, Shin MK, Min BI, Kee HJ
Affiliation: Korea University, 318 West Building College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu
Conference/Journal: Mol Cells.
Date published: 2008 Mar 28
Other:
Volume ID: 25 , Issue ID: 2 , Word Count: 158
To investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment on regions remote from the application, we measured cellular, enzymatic, and transcriptional activities in various internal tissues of healthy rats. The EA was applied to the well-identified acupoint ST36 of the leg. After application, we measured the activity of natural killer cells in the spleen, gene expression in the hypothalamus, and the activities of antioxidative enzymes in the hypothalamus, liver and red blood cells. The EA treatment increased natural killer cell activity in the spleen by approximately 44%. It also induced genes related to pain, including 5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) receptor 3a (Htr3a) and Endothelin receptor type B (Ednrb) in the hypothalamus, and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase in the hypothalamus, liver, and red blood cells. These findings indicate that EA mediates its effects through changes in cellular activity, gene expression, and enzymatic activity in multiple remote tissues. The sum of these alterations may explain the beneficial effects of EA.
PMID: 18413997