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. 2025 Feb 11;15(2):263. doi: 10.3390/biom15020263

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Signaling pathways associated with activation of autophagy by acupuncture. Acupuncture activates signaling pathways related to autophagy. There is increasing evidence that impaired autophagy leads to the accumulation of damaged proteins, organelles, and other pathological products, which induces or even exacerbates the onset and progression of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Acupuncture can regulate autophagy-related signaling pathways to activate autophagy, accelerate the removal of pathological products and inflammatory factors, delay cellular aging, and reduce oxidative stress damage to maintain the stability of the intracellular environment. The different colors of the lines represent different acupuncture therapies: moxibustion: red; acupuncture: blue; electroacupuncture (EA): green; acupoint catgut embedding: purple; and acupotomy: black. For example, moxibustion activates autophagy via mTOR/p70S6K to improve cognitive impairment in AD rats. SOS, Son-of-Sevenless; Ras, Ras protein; JNK, c-Jun N-terminal kinase; AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinase; ULK1, Unc-51 Like Kinase 1; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; NLRP3, NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3; AKT, threonine kinase; PI3K, phosphoinositide3-kinase; p62, Ubiquitin-binding protein p62; ATG, Anti-human T-lymphocyte Globulin; LC3, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; LC3B, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; GRP78, Glucose Regulated Protein 78kD; TFE3, transcription factor binding to IGHM enhancer 3; SIRT1, silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog- 1; VEFG, tumor necrosis factor; NIX, NIP3-like protein X; caspase-3/9/12, cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3/9/12; TEFB, transcription elongation factor b; p70S6K, p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase; 4E-BP, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1; PINK, PTEN induced putative kinase 1; Parkin, Parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase; HIF1, hypoxia inducible factor-1; Act A, actin assembly inducing protein; Bcl-2, B-cell lymphoma-2; Bax, Bcl-2 associated X protein. By Figdraw.