Table 1.
Effects of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture on inflammatory signalling pathways and receptors.
| Author and year | Model | EA/acup | Acupuncture points | Effect | Thermal hyperalgesia | Mechanical allodynia | Oedema |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huang et al. 2004 [10] |
CFA hind paw FSD rats | EA 100 Hz | (B) ST 36, SP 6 | No effect | Reduced | ||
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| Huang et al. 2008 [11] |
CFA hind paw FSD rats | EA 100 Hz | (B) ST 36, SP 6 | Reduced thermal hyperalgesia and increased EA tolerance EA effects abolished by high dose Naloxone suggesting dynorphin mediation |
Reduced | ||
|
| |||||||
| Su et al. 2011 [12] |
CFA hind paw MSD rats | EA 2 Hz | (I) GB 30, GB 34 | Increased POMC and β-END expression in keratinocytes, macrophages, and T-lymphocytes in inflamed skin via activation of CB2 cannabinoid receptors | Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Zhang et al. 2012 [13] |
CFA hind paw rats | EA 10 Hz | GB 30 | Suppressed spinal IL-17 and p-NR1 | Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Shou et al. 2013 [14] |
CFA hind paw MSD rats | EA 2 Hz EA 100 Hz |
ST 36, BL 60 | Increased CB1 expression with upregulation of D1 and D2 expression in striatum | Reduced | ||
|
| |||||||
| Fang et al. 2013 [5] |
CFA hind paw MSD rats | EA 2/100 Hz alt | (B) ST 36, BL 60 | Inhibition of p38/MAPK/ATF-2/TRPV1 pathway producing downregulation of TRPV1 in spinal dorsal horn | Reduced | Reduced only at day 14 |
|
|
| |||||||
| Fang et al. 2014 [15] |
CFA hind paw MSD rats | EA 2/100 Hz alt | (B) ST 36, BL 60 | Inhibited ERK1/2-COX-2 and ERK1/2-CREB-NK-1 pathway Downregulated NK-1 hence inhibiting SP | Reduced | ||
|
| |||||||
| Wang et al. 2013 [9] |
CFA hind paw M Wistar rats | EA 100 Hz | (B) GB 30 | EA effects suppressed by opiate antagonists naloxone and natrindole | Reduced | Reduced | Reduced slightly |
|
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| Wang et al. 2014 [16] |
CFA hind paw M Wistar rats | EA 100 Hz | (B) GB 30 | TNF-α and IL-1β downregulated, IL-13 upregulated, and IL-1α and IL-4 unchanged IFN-γ up-regulated stimulating CXCL10 increasing CXCR3+ macrophages |
Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Du et al. 2014 [4] |
CFA hind paw MSD rats | EA 2/100 Hz alt | (B) ST 36, BL 60 | Inhibited JNK1/2 and COX-2 but not TRPV1 | Reduced | No effect | |
|
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| Chen et al. 2011 [17] |
Carrageenan & CFA hind paw CDI mice | EA 2 Hz | ST 36 | Decreased overexpression of ASIC3 in DRG | Reduced | ||
|
| |||||||
| Huang et al. 2013 [18] |
Carrageenan & CFA hind paw F ICR mice | EA 2 Hz | ST 36 | Decreased expression of sodium voltage-gated channels Nav 1.7 and Nav 1.8 but not Nav 1.9 in DRG | Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Kim et al. 2012 [19] |
Carrageenan hind paw MSD rats | EA 2/100 Hz alt | (B) ST 36, SP 6 | Inhibition of p-PI3K blocked trkA/PI3K/PIP3/Akt pathway | Reduced | Reduced | |
|
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| da Silva et al. 2015 [20] | Carrageenan gastrocnemius C57BL/6 mice | Manual acup | SP 6 | Increased IL-10 in inflamed muscle Induced a phenotypic switch from M1 to M2 macrophages in inflamed muscle |
Reduced | Reduced | Reduced |
|
| |||||||
| Kim et al. 2009 [21] |
Capsaicin hind paw MSD rats |
EA 2 Hz | (I) SI 3, TE 8 (GB 30, GB 34; BL 40, BL 60; GV 2, GV 6; LI 3, LI 6) |
SI 3 & TE 8 effective, but other point combinations were not Secondary (but nor primary) hyperalgesia is mediated by MOR and DOR but not KOR or adrenergic receptors |
Reduced secondary but not primary hyperalgesia |
||
|
| |||||||
| Hwang et al. 2011 [22] |
Exp. diabetic neuropathic pain MSD rats | EA 2 Hz EA 120 Hz |
(B) SP 9 or ST 36 | Decreased cleavage of p35 to p25 hence inhibited p35/p25/Cdk5/MAPK and/or p35/p25/Cdk5/NMDA pathways | EA 2 Hz reduced; EA 120 Hz no effect |
EA 2 Hz reduced; EA 120 Hz no effect | |
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| Jiang et al. 2013 [23] |
SNL MSD rats | EA 2 Hz | (I) ST 36, BL 60 | Downregulated TRPV1 in spinal dorsal horn and reduced CGRP | Reduced | ||
|
| |||||||
| Lee et al. 2013 [24] |
SCI MSD rats | Manual acup | GV 26, (B) GB 34 | Inhibited JNK/p-c-Jun in spinal astrocytes Decreased chemokines MCP-1, MIP-1β, and MIP-3α |
Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Yu et al. 2013 [25] |
CCI SD rats | EA 2 Hz EA 15 Hz |
ST 36, GB 34 | EA reduced ERK1/2 phosphorlylation and P2X3 expression in spinal cord | Reduced EA 2 Hz > 15 Hz |
Reduced EA 2 Hz > 15 Hz |
|
|
| |||||||
| Hsu et al. 2014 [26] |
CCI MSD rats | EA 2 Hz EA 15 Hz |
(R) ST 36, ST 37 | EA increased cerebral TRPV4 but not TRPV1 No change in spinal TRPV4 or TRPV1 | Reduced | Reduced | |
|
| |||||||
| Wang et al. 2009 [27] |
Surgical trauma MSD rats | EA 2/60 Hz alt | (B) ST 36, Lanwei (M-LE-13) | Suppressed lymphocyte proliferation Reduced splenic T cells production of Th1 cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-γ) increased Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) Suppressed activity of ERK1/2, p38, NF-κB, and AP-1 |
Reduced | Reduced | |
EA: electroacupuncture, acup: acupuncture, CFA hind paw: model of inflammation induced by injection of complete Freund's adjuvant into rats' hind paws, FSD rats: female Sprague Dawley rats, MSD: male Sprague Dawley rats, alt: alternating, (B): bilateral, (I): ipsilateral, CB: cannabinoid receptor, D: dopamine receptor, TRPV: transient receptor potential vallinoid, proopiomelanocortin, β-END: beta endorphin, p-NR1: phosphorylation of NR1, SP: substance P, CGRP: calcitonin gene-related peptide, NK-1: neurokinin 1 receptor, DRG: dorsal root ganglion, MAPK: mitogen activated protein kinase, ATF-2: activating transcription factor 2, ERK: extracellular-regulated protein kinase, CREB: cAMP response element binding protein, NK-1: neurokinin 1 receptor, JNK: c-jun N terminal kinase, ASIC3: acid sensing ion channel 3, Nav: sodium voltage-gated channels, trkA: tyrosine kinase A, PI3K/PIP3: phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/phosphatidylinositol phosphate 3 pathway, MOR: Mu opioid receptor, DOR: delta opioid receptor, KOR: kappa opioid receptor, AP-1: activator protein 1, Cdk5: cyclin-dependent kinase 5, and NMDA: N-methyl-D-aspartate.