Extracellular signal-regulated kinase, substance P and neurokinin-1 are involved in the analgesic mechanism of herb-partitioned moxibustion

摘要

Herb-partitioned moxibustion can effectively mitigate visceral pain, a major symptom in inflammatory bowel disease, but the analgesic mechanism is still unclear. Moreover, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, substance P, and neurokinin-1 are involved in formation of central hyperalgesia. Thus, we postulated that the analgesic effect of herb-partitioned moxibustion may be associated with these factors. Accordingly, in this study, we established an inflammatory bowel disease visceral pain model in rat by enema with a mixed solution of 5% trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and 50% ethanol. Bilateral Tianshu(ST25) and Qihai(CV6) points were selected for herb-partitioned moxibustion. Our results showed that herb-partitioned moxibustion improved visceral pain and down-regulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase, substance P, and neurokinin-1 protein and m RNA expression in dorsal root ganglia. These results indicate that down-regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, substance P, and neurokinin-1 protein and m RNA may be a central mechanism for the analgesic effect of herb-partitioned moxibustion.