A Parametric Study on the Immunomodulatory Effects of Electroacupuncture in DNP-KLH Immunized Mice
Open Access
- 1 January 2011
- journal article
- website
- Published by Hindawi Limited in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Vol. 2011 (4), 1-5
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nep166
Abstract
This study was conducted to compare the effects of low frequency electroacupuncture (EA) and high frequency EA at acupoint ST36 on the production of IgE and Th1/Th2 cytokines in BALB/c mice that had been immunized with 2,4-dinitrophenylated keyhole limpet protein (DNP-KLH), as well as to investigate the difference in the immunomodulatory effects exerted by EA stimulations at acupoint ST36 and at a non-acupoint (tail). Female BALB/c mice were divided into seven groups: normal (no treatments), IM (immunization only), ST36-PA (IM + plain acupuncture at ST36), ST36-LEA (IM + low frequency (1 Hz) EA at ST36), ST36-HEA (IM + high frequency (120 Hz) EA at ST36), NA-LEA (IM + low frequency (1 Hz) EA at non-acupoint) and NA-HEA (IM + high frequency (120 Hz) EA at non-acupoint). EA stimulation was performed daily for two weeks, and total IgE, DNP-KLH specific IgE, IL-4 and IFN-γlevels were measured at the end of the experiment. The results of this study showed that the IgE and IL-4 levels were significantly suppressed in the ST36-LEA and ST36-HEA groups, but not in the NA-LEA and NA-HEA groups. However, there was little difference in the immunomodulatory effects observed in the ST36-LEA and ST36-HEA groups. Taken together, these results suggest that EA stimulation-induced immunomodulation is not frequency dependent, but that it is acupoint specific.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Pediatric Acupuncture: A Review of Clinical ResearchEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2009
- The endogenous CCK mediation of electroacupuncture stimulation-induced satiety in ratsPeptides, 2008
- The α-adrenoceptor mediation of the immunomodulatory effects of electroacupuncture in DNP-KLH immunized miceNeuroscience Letters, 2007
- The Analgesic Effects of Automatically Controlled Rotating Acupuncture in Rats: Mediation by Endogenous Opioid SystemThe Journal of Physiological Sciences, 2006
- Effects of electroacupuncture on cold allodynia in a rat model of neuropathic pain: Mediation by spinal adrenergic and serotonergic receptorsExperimental Neurology, 2005
- Involvement of serotonin in the hypoglycemic response to 2Hz electroacupuncture of zusanli acupoint (ST36) in ratsNeuroscience Letters, 2005
- Suppression of IgE production and modulation of Th1/Th2 cell response by electroacupuncture in DNP-KLH immunized miceJournal of Neuroimmunology, 2004
- Nitric Oxide in the Gracile Nucleus Mediates Depressor Response to Acupuncture (ST36)Journal of Neurophysiology, 2003
- AcupunctureJAMA, 1998
- Role of endogenous interferon-γ on the enhancement of splenic NK cell activity by electroacupuncture stimulation in miceJournal of Neuroimmunology, 1998