Moxibustion alleviates decreased ovarian reserve in rats by restoring the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Moxibustion, a common therapy in traditional Chinese medicine, has potential benefits for treating decreased ovarian reserve (DOR). The present study investigates the protective effect of moxibustion in a rat model of DOR and explores the possible mechanisms.@*METHODS@#Sixty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, DOR, moxibustion (MOX), and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The DOR rat model was established by intragastric administration of 50 mg/kg Tripterygium glycoside suspension (TGS), once daily for 14 days. MOX and HRT treatments were given from the day TGS administration was initiated. The ovarian reserve function was evaluated by monitoring the estrus cycle, morphological changes in ovaries, levels of serum estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), pregnancy rate and embryo numbers. Terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end-labeling staining was used to identify ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis, while the protein and mRNA expressions of Bax, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT) in ovarian tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry, Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the DOR group, MOX improved the disordered estrous cycle, promoted follicular growth, reduced the number of atresia follicles, increased the concentrations of serum E2 and AMH, and decreased serum FSH and LH concentrations. More importantly, the pregnancy rate and embryo numbers in DOR rats were both upregulated in the MOX treatment group, compared to the untreated DOR model. Further, we found that the MOX group had reduced apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells, increased Bcl-2 expression and reduced expression of Bax. Furthermore, the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was triggered by the moxibustion treatment.@*CONCLUSION@#Moxibustion improved ovarian function and suppressed apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in a rat model of DOR induced by TGS, and the mechanism may involve the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Effect of moxibustion on Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in rats with diminished ovarian reserve / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of moxibustion on Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in rats with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), and to explore the protective mechanism of moxibustion on ovarian reserve function.@*METHODS@#Forty SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, a moxibustion group and a hormone group, 10 rats in each group. The rats in the model group, moxibustion group and hormone group were treated with intragastric administration of tripterysium glycosides turbid liquid to prepare DOR model. The rats in the blank group were treated with intragastric administration of sodium chloride solution with the same volume, once a day for 14 days. The rats in the hormone group were treated with hormone sequential therapy for 14 days from the day of modeling; the rats in the moxibustion group were treated with moxibustion at bilateral "Shenshu" (BL 23) or "Guanyuan" (CV 4) and "Zhongwan" (CV 12) from the day of modeling, and the two groups acupoints were alternated every other day, 10 min each time, for 14 consecutive days. The estrus cycle was observed every day by vaginal exfoliated cell smear, and the estrus cycle disorder rate in each group was calculated. After the intervention, the HE staining was used to observe the histological morphology of ovaries; ELISA was used to detect the contents of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E@*RESULTS@#Compared with the blank group, the rate of estrus cycle disorder in the model group was increased (@*CONCLUSION@#Moxibustion could reduce the rate of estrus cycle disorder, improve the level of serum sex hormones and antioxidant stress in DOR rats, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Construction of inheritance way of acupuncture and moxibustion science based on tacit knowledge / 中国针灸

The conception and characteristics of tacit knowledge and the tacit knowledge in the science of acupuncture-moxibustion are analyzed in this paper. It is proposed that the attention should be paid to digging the tacit knowledge in the science of acupuncture-moxibustion and constructing the corresponding inheritance way, which could effectively improve the students' cultivation quality and reach the aim of talent cultivation centered on the clinical thinking ability, acupuncture operation skill and clinical innovation ability.

Effects of electroacupuncture on expression of calmodulin in the hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on injured neurons and the signal transduction mechanism of calmodulin (CaM) in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 25 SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a model group, an EA. group, a TFP group and an EA+TFP group. The rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was established by the modified Longa thread occlusion method. The EA group was treated with EA at "Dazhui" (GV 14) and "Baihui" (GV 20) for 30 minutes. The TFP group was treated with lumbar intrathecal injection of Trinuoperazine (TFP) at a dose of 40 microL/kg, the inhibitor of CaM. The EA + TFP group was treated with EA combined with TFP, and the sham-operation group and the model group without any treatment. The neurology deficit score was evaluated by the Julio's neuroethology score methods in all rats, and the expression of CaM in cerebral hippocampus tissue was detected with immunohistochemical method in different intervention condition.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) In comparison with the model group of 6.90 +/- 1.66, the neuroethology score in the EA group of 14.50 +/- 1.08, the TFP group of 11.70 +/- 1.06 and the EA + TFP group of 14.30 +/- 1.06 were all significantly increased (all P < 0.01), while those still were all lower than the sham group of 17.60 +/- 0.52 (all P < 0.01), and the EA group was better than the TFP group (P < 0.01). (2) In comparison with the sham group of 0.080 +/- 0.045, the immune positive expression score of CaM protein in hippocampus in the model group of 1.680 +/- 0.268 was sig nificantly increased (P < 0.01). In comparison with the model group, the expression score of CaM protein in the EA group of 0.880 +/- 0.179, the TFP group of 0.720 +/- 0.179 and the EA + TFP group of 0.420 +/- 0.249 were all significantly reduced (all P < 0.01), and the expression score of CaM in the EA + TFP group was lower than that in the TFP group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EA can reduce the injury of cerebral neurons induced by CIRI in rats and promote the recovery, which may be related to its effect in regulating CaM signaling pathway after the ischemia-reperfusion injury.</p>

Progress in researches on the effect of acupuncture in antagonizing oxygen stress / 中国结合医学杂志

Oxidation and free radicals participate in the pathological process of multiple diseases in organisms, and acupuncture shows good effect in antagonizing oxygen stress (OS). This article reviews the effect of acupuncture in antagonizing oxygen stress and the mechanism of its anti-free radical effect in various diseases. The authors hold that acupuncture not only has a chain-blocking effect, but also has preventive and repairing effects of anti-oxidation. And anti-OS action is one of the important mechanisms of acupuncture.