Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats via Suppressing the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF- κ B Signaling Pathway

Shi-Yue Sun; Qi-Qi Yan; Li-Na Qiao; Yi-Nan Shi; Lian-Hong Tan; Yong-Sheng Yang

doi:10.1155/2023/9050763

Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats via Suppressing the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF- κ B Signaling Pathway

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2023 Feb 4:2023:9050763. doi: 10.1155/2023/9050763. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shi-Yue Sun¹, Qi-Qi Yan¹, Li-Na Qiao¹, Yi-Nan Shi¹, Lian-Hong Tan¹, Yong-Sheng Yang¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.

Abstract

Results: EA intervention and OxPAPC injection could relieve mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia caused by CIA. Paw edema and pathological damage of synovium were significantly ameliorated after EA intervention and OxPAPC injection. Furthermore, EA intervention and OxPAPC injection markedly reduced the contents of serum TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, as well as the protein expression levels of synovial TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB p-p65. In particular, the expression of TLR2 and TLR4 on synovial fibroblasts and macrophages in synovium was significantly reduced by EA intervention.

Conclusions: Repeated EA stimulation at ST36 and SP6 can effectively relieve joint pain and synovial inflammation caused by RA in CIA rats. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of EA may be closely related to the inhibition of innate immune responses driven by the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF-κB signaling pathway in the synovium.