Figure 1.

Mechanisms of acupuncture regulating NF-κB. ^∗Acupuncture could inhibit NF-κB through sirtuins, P38, α7nAChR, miRNAs, and IκB in this review. Infection, inflammatory cytokines, and engagement of antigen receptors can activate NF-κB leading to inflammation responses. IκB is a key to inhibit this progress. Current evidence showed that acupuncture could modulate IKKα and sirtuins to decrease the activation of NF-κB. The role of miRNAs in inflammation is multiple, and acupuncture could dual-regulate the level of different miRNAs based on their function. As a result, acupuncture could be concerned as an efficient NF-κB antagonist, and there may be other complex mechanisms which are still unclear.