The mechanism of effective electroacupuncture on T cell response in rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e51573. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051573. Epub 2013 Jan 28.

Abstract

Previously, we demonstrated that electroacupuncture (EA) decreased lymphocyte infiltration into the spinal cords of rats presenting with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a disease model used in the study of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of EA on the EAE. Female Lewis rats were divided into either CFA, EAE, EA, or injection with naloxone after electroacupuncture (NAL) groups. Electroacupuncture was administered every day for 21 days. To evaluate proliferation and apoptosis, lymphocytes from rats presenting with EAE were collected and cultured with β-endorphin. Immunohistochemisty, flow cytometry and radio-immunity methods were applied to detect the expression of β-endorphin. Results presented in this report demonstrate that the beneficial anti-inflammatory effects of EA on EAE were related to β-endorphin production that balances the Thl/Th2 and Th17/Treg responses. These results suggest that β-endorphin could be an important component in the development of EA-based therapies used for the treatment of EAE.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Apoptosis / immunology
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Electroacupuncture*
  • Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / immunology*
  • Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / pathology
  • Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Multiple Sclerosis / immunology*
  • Multiple Sclerosis / pathology
  • Multiple Sclerosis / therapy
  • Naloxone / pharmacology
  • Rats
  • Rats, Inbred Lew
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / drug effects
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology
  • Th1-Th2 Balance / drug effects
  • Th17 Cells / cytology
  • Th17 Cells / drug effects
  • Th17 Cells / immunology
  • beta-Endorphin / pharmacology

Substances

  • Naloxone
  • beta-Endorphin

Grants and funding

The study is financially supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (81100883), the Science and Technology Study project of the Education Department of Heilongjiang Province (11541114) and the Harbin Medical University Innovation Fund for Postgraduates (HCXB2010001). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.