Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that has a negative effect on the patient's thoughts,behavior,feelings,and physical well-being.In the past five years,a significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanism of acupuncture therapy for improving depression.In the present paper,the authors summarize mechanisms of acupuncture for depression from 1) upregulating levels of monoamine neurotransmitters,gamma-aminobutyric acid,5-HT1A receptor binding,and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y,β-endorphine,and μ-receptor expression,and down-regulating hippocampal glutamate content,etc.; 2) upregulating expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein and mRNA and its receptor TrkB,and activating adenyl eyclase-cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway; 3) increasing hi ppocampal growth-associated protein 43 level and suppressing hippocampal c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation and cellular apoptosis; 4) upregulating expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (activating glia cells) ; 5) regulating activities of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and hypothalamus-pituitary-sex gland axis; 6) down-regulating serum IL-1β,IL-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α levels.Moreover,the authors also put forward some suggestions about the further research on the mechanisms of acupuncture intervention for depression in the future.%近5年来,针刺治疗抑郁症的作用机制研究取得了显著进展,笔者对此进行了综述,主要包括以下几方面:(1)针刺上调海马内单胺类神经递质、γ-氨基丁酸含量和5-羟色胺1A受体结合位点,及下丘脑神经肽Y、β-内啡肽、μ受体的表达,降低海马谷氨酸含量；(2)针刺上调海马脑源性神经营养因子蛋白及基因和相关受体的表达,激活腺苷酸环化酶-环磷酸腺苷(cAMP)-蛋白激酶A-cAMP反应元件结合蛋白信号通路；(3)针刺增加海马生长相关蛋白-43水平,并抑制c-J un氨基末端激酶活性和细胞凋亡；(4)针刺增加海马胶质纤维酸性蛋白的表达；(5)针刺调节下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺皮质轴和下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴功能；(6)针刺下调血清中细胞因子的含量.笔者还对今后的研究进行了展望.
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