Acupuncture suppresses stress-induced neuroinflammation in the rat hypothalamus

摘要

Purpose: Acupuncture has been used to relieve stress.Although recent studies have shown that acupuncture canreduce stress, its mechanism remains unclear. The presentstudy investigated the effect of acupuncture on immobilizationstress- induced neuroinflammation in the rathypothalamus.Methods: Rats were immobilized for 60 min. Manualacupuncturewas performed at HT7 during the immobilizationperiod. Gene expression of several pro-inflammatory factorsand serum level of stress hormone and PGE2 were evaluatedusing real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively.Results: The stress-alleviating effect of acupuncture wasconfirmed by inhibiting hypothalamic CRF mRNA expressionsas well as serum corticosterone levels in response to immobilizationstress. The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatorymediators including TNF- and IL-1 in the hypothalamusincreased significantly after immobilization stress. Acupuncturetreatment at HT7 during the immobilization significantlysuppressed the immobilization stress-induced increase ofpro-inflammatory mediators in the hypothalamus. Also,acupuncture inhibited significant increases in hypothalamicCOX-2 mRNA as well as serum PGE2 levels in response toimmobilization stress.Conclusion: These data clearly suggest a stress-relievingeffect of acupuncture and the inhibition of neuroinflammationas a possible action mechanism for its anti-stress effect.