Table 1.

Anti-Inflammatory Actions of Acupuncture in Immune System Diseases

Refs.	Inflammatory Model	Intervention Methods	Acupoints	Acupuncture Parameters	Inflammation-Related Behaviors	Test Sites	Biochemical Measurements
Dong, 20189	RA	EA	ST36, BL60	2 Hz, 2.0 mA, 30 min, 4 weeks	Paw swelling, arthritis index	Ankle tissues	TLR4↓, MyD88↓, NF-κB↓
Du, 201910	RA	EA	ST36, SP6	2Hz, 30 min, from day 35 to day 49 after the first immunization	—	Ankle joint, serum	TNF-α↓, RANKL↓, PKA↓, NF-κB↓, ERK1/2↑, A2AR↑
Xu, 201811	RA	MA	ST36	3 spins per second, 2 min with a 5-min interval, 28 min, day 1–7 (once a day) and day 8–15 (once every other day)	TWL, Paw swelling	Serum, hind paw	IL-1β↓, IL-6↓, TNF-α↓
Yu, 202012	RA	EA	ST36, SP6	2/100 Hz, 2.0 mA, 20 min	MWT, TWL	Hind paw, spinal cord	IL-1β↓, NLRP3↓, TNF-α↓, L-10↑, CD11b+F4/80+↓, CD11b+Ly6G+↓, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+↑
Su, 201913	RA	EA	ST36, GB39	2 Hz, 15 min, every other day, 16 days	Arthritic index, paw swelling	Synovial tissues	Bax↑, Noxa↑, p53↑, PUMA↑, MDM2↓
Torres, 201414	Sepsis	EA pretreatment	ST36	15min	Survival rate	Serum	TNF-α↓, MCP-1↓, IL-6↓, INF-γ↓
Chen, 201615	SAE	EA pretreatment	ST36, GV20	2–15Hz, 2 mA, 30 min	MWM	Brain tissues, serum, hippocampus	MDA↓, SOD↓, CAT↓, TLR-4↓, NF-κB↓, IL-6↓, TNF-α↓, Iba 1↓
Zhang, 201816	Sepsis	EA	ST36	2.0 mA, 2–100 Hz, 1 hour	—	Cardiac muscles	TNF-α↓, NO↓, MPO↓, CK-MB↓
Xie, 202017	Sepsis	EA	ST36, LI11, ST25	3 Hz, 15 min	—	Serum, mesenteric lymph nodes	IL-10↓, TNF-α↓, CD3+CD4+↑, CD3+CD8+↓

Notes: ↑, upregulated by acupuncture; ↓, downregulated by acupuncture.

Abbreviations: RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SAE, sepsis-associated encephalopathy; MWT, mechanical withdrawal threshold; TWL, thermal withdrawal latency; MWM, Morris water maze; NLRP3, NOD-like receptor protein 3; TLR4, toll like receptors 4; MyD88, myeloid differentiation factor 88; NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa-B; RANKL, receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand; NO, nitric oxide; MPO, myeloperoxidase; MCP-1, monocyte chemotactic protein 1; INF-γ, interferon-γ; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD, superoxide dismutase; CAT, catalase; Iba 1, ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule; CK-MB, creatine kinase-MB; ST36, Zusanli; SP6, Sanyinjiao; BL60, Kunlun; GB39, Xuanzhong; LI11, Quchi; ST25, Tianshu; GV20, Baihui.