Investigating the influence of moxibustion on colonic mucosal barrier in rats with dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective: To observe the effect of moxibustion on the colonic mucosal barrier of rats with ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Methods: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal group and a modeling group, with 20 rats in each group. Rats in the modeling group were subjected to preparing experimental UC models by drinking 4％ DSS for seven consecutive days. Two modeled rats and two normal rats were randomly selected for model identification. After the success of UC model was confirmed, the remaining 18 modeled rats were randomly divided into three groups, a model group, a model + herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group, and a model + mild moxibustion group, with six rats in each group; the remaining normal rats were randomly divided into three groups, a normal group, a normal + herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group, and a normal + mild moxibustion group, with six rats in each group. After 7 d of intervention with the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion or the mild moxibustion, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining technique was used to observe the pathological changes of colon tissue under a light microscope; Western blotting and/or immunohistochemical techniques were used to detect the protein expression levels of Occludin, Claudin, junction adhesion molecular 1 (JAM1), mucin 2 (MUC2), and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) in rat colon tissue. Results: Compared with the normal group, the colon tissue was severely damaged, the pathological score was significantly increased, and the protein expression levels of Occludin, Claudin, JAM1, MUC2, and TGF-β1 were significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.01); while there were no significant differences in the colonic histopathological score, protein expression levels of Occludin, Claudin, JAM1, MUC2, and TGF-β1 in the normal + herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the normal + mild moxibustion group (P>0.05). Compared with the model group, the model + herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the model + mild moxibustion group showed repaired colon tissue, ulcer healing, significantly reduced pathological score, and significantly increased protein expression levels of JAM1, MUC2, and TGF-β1 (P<0.05); the Occludin protein expression level in the colon tissue of the model + mild moxibustion group was increased (P<0.01). Conclusion: Neither herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion nor mild moxibustion influences the colonic histopathology and intestinal mucosal barrier-related protein expression in the normal rats; both herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion and mild moxibustion can up-regulate the protein expression levels of JAM1, MUC2, and TGF-β1 in the colon tissue of UC rats. Mild moxibustion can up-regulate Occludin protein expression. This may be a mechanism of moxibustion in reducing colonic mucosa inflammation in UC.