Original Articles
Ma, Zhe1,2; Li, Lingjie1,3; Wu, Huangan1,2,*; Zhou, Jianhua4; Lin, Yaying1,2; Zheng, Shiyu1,2; Yang, Ling1,2; Huang, Yan1,2; Liu, Yanan1,2; Zhang, Fang1,2; Zhu, Lu1,2; Qi, Qin1,2; Wu, Luyi1,5,*
1 Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
2Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai, China
3Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
4Shanghai Eighth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
5Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82174501, 82105012, 82205293, 82205262), Shanghai Municipal Natural Science Foundation (22ZR1458400), Shanghai Talent Development Fund Project (2021058), State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine high-level key discipline construction project (zyyzdxk-2023068).
Author contributions: Data curation: Yanan Liu; Funding acquisition: Huangan Wu and Luyi Wu; Investigation: Yaying Lin, Shiyu Zheng, and Ling Yang; Resources: Yan Huang; Software: Fang Zhang; Supervision: Qin Qi and Jianhua Zhou; Writing–original draft: Zhe Ma and Lingjie Li; Writing–review & editing: Lu Zhu. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Ethical approval of studies and informed consent: The use of animals in this study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. [Approval number: PZSHUTCM211227012].
Acknowledgments: None.
Data availability: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Zhe Ma and Lingjie Li contributed equally to this work.
*Correspondence: Luyi Wu, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China, [emailprotected]; Huangan Wu, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China, [emailprotected].
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine ():10.1097/HM9.0000000000000159, May 14, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000159
- Open
- PAP
- Infographic
Abstract
Objective:
To investigate the mechanism by which moxibustion regulates the expression of inflammatory cytokines in ulcerative colitis (UC) rats through the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway.
Methods:
UC was induced using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in both wild-type (WT) and P2X7R knockout (KO) mice. General health conditions, pathological changes, and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining of the colonic tissues were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect NF-κB p65 protein expression in colonic tissues. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to four groups: normal, model, normal + herb-partitioned moxibustion, and model + herb-partitioned moxibustion. UC was induced in rats by cyclic DSS administration. Rats in the herb-partitioned moxibustion group received moxibustion at the bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (RN6) acupoints. The effects of herb-partitioned moxibustion were evaluated regarding general health conditions and histopathological alterations in colon tissue. The protein expression of P2X7R and NF-κB p65 in colonic tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry, whereas IL-10 mRNA levels were quantified using RT-qPCR.
Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6.
Results:
Colonic epithelial damage and inflammatory cell infiltration were significantly reduced in P2X7R KO mice compared to WT mice, along with reduced expression of NF-κB p65 protein in colonic tissues (P < 0.05). Moxibustion improves histopathological damage, goblet cell number, and intestinal mucus secretion in rats with UC. Compared to the normal group, the model group exhibited increased histopathological scores, serum TNF-α, and IL-6 levels, as well as elevated P2X7R and NF-κB p65 protein expression in colonic tissues (P < 0.05). In comparison to the model group, the model + herb-partitioned moxibustion group demonstrated significantly lower histopathological scores, reduced serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels, and decreased P2X7R and NF-κB p65 protein expression (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Moxibustion at “Tianshu” and “Qihai” points may inhibit the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α inflammatory factors and reduce inflammation in the UC colonic mucosa by regulating the P2X7R/NF-κB p65 pathway in UC colonic tissues.
Graphical abstract: https://links.lww.com/AHM/A177
