Recommended Articles

In this issue of the journal, recommended articles which cited articles of the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies are selected and from the Journal of Pharmacopuncture (ISSN: 1226-4849) published in English.

(1) PloS ONE, 2015, Volume 10, Issue 4, Article number e0124195

Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Induces Tidal Melatonin Secretion and Has an Antidiabetic Effect in Zucker Fatty Rats

Shuxing Wang*, Xu Zhai, Shaoyuan Li, Michael F. McCabe, Xing Wang, Peijing Rong

*Corresponding Author’s Affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China. rongpj@hotmail.com

Abstract

Melatonin plays a protective role in type 2 diabetes (T2D) through regulation of glucose metabolism. Whether transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is antidiabetic and whether a modulated melatonin production is involved in the antidiabetic mechanism of taVNS is unknown. In this study, once daily 30min noninvasive taVNS was administered in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF, fa/fa) and Zucker lean (ZL, +/fa) littermates under anesthesia for 5 consecutive weeks. The acute and chronic influences of taVNS on the secretion of melatonin were studied as well as the effects of taVNS on blood glucose metabolism. We found that naïve ZDF rats develop hyperglycemia naturally with age. Each taVNS session would trigger a tidal secretion of melatonin both during and after the taVNS procedure and induce an acute two-phase glycemic change, a steep increase followed by a gradual decrease. Once daily taVNS sessions eventually reduced the glucose concentration to a normal level in seven days and effectively maintained the normal glycemic and plasma glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_lc) levels when applied for five consecutive weeks. These beneficial effects of taVNS also exist in pinealectomized rats, which otherwise would show overt and continuous hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and high HbAl_c levels. We concluded that multiple taVNS sessions are antidiabetic in T2D through triggering of tidal secretion of melatonin. This finding may have potential importance in developing new approaches to the treatment of T2D, which is highly prevalent, incurable with any current approaches, and very costly to the world.

(2) Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, Volume 2013, Article number 584179

Electroacupuncture Regulates Apoptosis/Proliferation of Intramuscular Interstitial Cells of Cajal and Restores Colonic Motility in Diabetic Constipation Rats

Juanjuan Xu, Yan Chen, Shi Liu*, Xiaohua Hou

*Corresponding Author’s Affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. shiliugao@sina.cn

Abstract

Injury of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) is associated with gut dysmotility in diabetic rats. We have shown an acceleration of the colonic contractility by electroacupuncture stimulation (EAS). However, little is known about potential roles of EAS on colonic transit and ICC. In this study, we evaluate the effect of EAS on colonic transit and investigate whether apoptosis/proliferation of ICC was involved in regulative effect of EAS on colonic transit. Rats were randomly assigned to normal, diabetic, diabetic-plus-sham stimulation, diabetic-plus-low-frequency stimulation, and diabetic-plus-high-frequency stimulation groups. Bead expulsion test was used for measuring the distal colonic transit. The Kit (ICC marker) was detected by western blot. Apoptotic ICC was detected by terminal dUTP nucleotide end labeling. Proliferating ICC was identified by Kit/Ki67 double immunofluorescent staining on whole mount preparations. Ultrastructure changes of ICC were studied using electron microscopy. Results showed that high-frequency stimulation significantly promoted colonic transit. Low- and high-frequency stimulation markedly rescued intramuscular ICC from apoptosis. Abundant proliferating intramuscular ICC was found in low- and high-frequency stimulation groups. Our results indicate that high-frequency EAS has stimulatory effect on the distal colonic transit, which may be mediated by downregulation of the apoptosis and upregulation of the proliferation of intramuscular ICC.

(3) Scientific Reports, 2015, Volume 5, Article number 17366

Targeting TRPV1 for Body Weight Control using TRPV1^−/− Mice and Electroacupuncture

Monchanok Choowanthanapakorn, Kung-Wen Lu, Jun Yang, Ching-Liang Hsieh, Yi-Wen Lin*

*Corresponding Author’s Affiliation: College of Chinese Medicine, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science and International Master Program, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. yiwenlin@mail.cmu.edu.tw

Abstract

Obesity is a global social medical problem resulting in morbidity as high as 20–30%. Here we investigated whether the manipulation of TRPV1 can control mice body weight through electroacupuncture (EA). The results demonstrated that body weight increased with time in the control group (108.19 ± 1.31%, n = 7). The increase of mice body weight was significantly less in the EA group (104.41 ± 0.76%, p < 0.05, compared with the control group, n = 7) but not in the sham EA group (109.1 ± 0.63%, p < 0.05, compared with EA group, n = 7). EA did not decrease the gain of body weight in TRPV1 knockmice (107.94 ± 0.41% and 107.79 ± 1.04% for TRPV1^−/− and TRPV1^−/− with EA, respectively, p > 0.05). The visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) weight was lower in the EA group at 4 weeks after manipulation. Moreover, the protein levels of TRPV1, pPKA, pPKC, and pERK were increased in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord (SC) after EA treatment but not in the sham EA and TRPV1^−/− mice. This study suggests that targeting TRPV1 is beneficial in controlling body weight and TRPV1 -associated mechanisms in mice.