SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of electroacupuncture on gut microbiota and related inflammatory factors in rats with Crohn disease

电针对克罗恩病大鼠肠道菌群及相关炎症因子的影响

  • Basic Study
  • Published:
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on gut microbiota and serum inflammatory factors interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in Crohn disease (CD) model rats.

Methods

Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal control (NC) group with 10 rats and a modeling group with 26 rats. In the modeling group, the CD rat model was prepared with 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) enema. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly divided into a CD model (CD) group, an EA group, and a Western medicine (WM) group. The NC and CD groups received no treatment; the EA group was treated with EA for 20 min each time, with 7 consecutive days’ intervention; the WM group received mesalazine enteric-coated tablet solution by gavage once a day for 7 d. The changes in body mass and disease activity index (DAI) were observed. Serum IL-1β and TNF-α were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the pathological changes of colon tissue, and 16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze the structural changes of gut microbiota.

Results

Compared with the NC group, the body mass of rats in the CD group decreased (P<0.01), and the DAI score increased (P<0.01); the colon tissue structure was disordered, and many inflammatory cells were present; also, IL-1β and TNF-α increased significantly (P<0.01). As a result, the diversity of gut microbiota decreased, and the abundance of some conditional pathogenic bacteria (such as Prevotella) increased, while the abundance of beneficial bacteria (such as Lactobacillus, Rochella, and Spirillum) decreased. After the intervention, compared with the CD group, the body mass of rats in the EA group and WM group increased (P<0.01); the DAI score decreased (P<0.01), the colon tissue structure improved, and the IL-1β and TNF-α levels decreased (P<0.01); the diversity of gut microbiota increased (P<0.05), and the abundance of some conditional pathogenic bacteria decreased while the abundance of beneficial bacteria increased in the EA group; whereas the diversity of gut microbiota in the WM group was not statistically different (P>0.05).

Conclusion

EA can reduce the damage of colon mucosa, regulate the imbalance of gut microbiota, and inhibit the serum inflammatory factor IL-1β and TNF-α expression in CD rats.

摘要

目的

观察电针对克罗恩病(CD)模型大鼠肠道菌群及其血清炎症因子白细胞介素-1β(IL-1β)及肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α)的影响。

方法

将36只Sprague-Dawley大鼠随机分为空白组(10只)和造模组(26只)。造模组采用三硝基苯磺酸 (TNBS)灌肠液制备CD大鼠模型。将造模成功的大鼠随机分为模型组、电针组和西药组。空白组和模型组不予治疗 干预; 电针组取双侧上巨虚和天枢进行电针治疗, 每次治疗20 min, 连续干预7 d; 西药组予以美沙拉嗪肠溶片溶液灌 胃治疗, 1次/d, 共灌胃7次。观察大鼠的体质量变化、疾病活动指数评分(DAI), 酶联免疫反应吸附法测定血清IL-1β及 TNF-α含量浓度, 苏木素-伊红染色观察结肠组织病理学变化, 16S rDNA测序分析各组肠道菌群的结构变化。

结果

与 **常组比较, 模型组体质量下降(P<0.01), DAI评分升高(P<0.01), 结肠组织结构混乱, 大量炎性细胞浸润, IL-1β及TNF-α 含量浓度升高(P<0.01), 菌群多样性下降, 部分条件致病菌的丰度(如普雷沃菌属)上升, 而有益菌的丰度(如乳杆菌、罗 氏菌属、颤螺菌属)下降。干预后, 与模型组比较, 电针组和西药组大鼠体质量上升(P<0.01), DAI评分下降(P<0.01), 结 肠组织结构有所好转, IL-1β及TNF-α含量下降(P<0.01); 电针组肠道菌群多样性上升(P<0.05), 部分条件致病菌丰度下 降, 而有益菌丰度上升; 西药组肠道菌群α多样性指数变化无统计学意义(P>0.05)。

结论

电针上巨虚和天枢可减轻CD 大鼠结肠黏膜损伤并调节肠道菌群失衡状态, 抑制血清炎性因子IL-1β及TNF-α的表达。

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. WU L P, SHEN F J, WANG W W, QI C R, WANG C B, SHANG A Q, XUAN S A. The effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood in patients with Crohn’s disease. J Funct Foods, 2021, 82(10): 104431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. BAO C H, ZHONG J, LIU H R, GU Y B, WU P, GU K, WANG D, WEN Z J, SHI Y, WU H G. Effect of acupuncture-moxibustion on negative emotions and plasma tryptophan metabolism in patients with Crohn’s disease at active stage. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu, 2021, 41(1): 17–22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. YANG F, NI B B, LIU Q L, HE F P, LI L, ZHONG X M, ZHENG X F, LU J X, CHEN X Y, LIN H Z, XU R X, HE Y Z, ZHANG Q, ZOU X G, CHEN W J. Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate experimental colitis by normalizing the gut microbiota. Stem Cell Res Ther, 2022, 13(1): 1–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. NI J, WU G D, ALBENBERG L, TOMOV V T. Gut microbiota and IBD: causation or correlation? Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2017, 14(10): 573–584.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. CUSHING K, HIGGINS P D R. Management of Crohn disease: a review. JAMA, 2021, 325(1): 69–80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. JIANG J, CHEN L, CHEN Y, CHEN H. Exclusive enteral nutrition remodels the intestinal flora in patients with active Crohn’s disease. BMC Gastroenterol, 2022, 22(1): 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. EL-SALHY M, PATCHARATRAKUL T, GONLACHANVIT S. The role of diet in the pathophysiology and management of irritable bowel syndrome. Indian J Gastroenterol, 2021, 40(2):111–119.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. LEVINE A, BONEH R S, WINE E. Evolving role of diet in the pathogenesis and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Gut, 2018, 66: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  9. PICKARD J M, ZENG M Y, CARUSO R, NÚÑEZ G. Gut microbiota: role in pathogen colonization, immune responses, and inflammatory disease. Immunol Rev, 2017, 279(1): 70–89.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. LLOYD-PRICE J, ARZE C, ANANTHAKRISHNAN A N, SCHIRMER M, AVILA-PACHECO J, POON T W, ANDREWS E, AJAMI N J, BONHAM K S, BRISLAWN C J, CASERO D, COURTNEY H, GONZALEZ A, GRAEBER T G, HALL A B, LAKE K, LANDERS C J, MALLICK H, PLICHTA D R, PRASAD M, RAHNAVARD G, SAUK J, SHUNGIN D, VÁZQUEZ-BAEZA Y, WHITE R A 3RD; IBDMDB Investigators; BRAUN J, DENSON L A, JANSSON J K, KNIGHT R, KUGATHASAN S, MCGOVERN D P B, PETROSINO J F, STAPPENBECK T S, WINTER H S, CLISH C B, FRANZOSA E A, VLAMAKIS H, XAVIER R J, HUTTENHOWER C. Multi-omics of the gut microbial ecosystem in inflammatory bowel diseases. Nature, 2019, 569(7758): 655–662.

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. HUANG Z Q, JI Y K, CHEN G S, LIANG J P, ZHANG A L, LIU G. Effect of Mankuining decoction on expression of inflammatory factors and intestinal flora in mice with ulcerative colitis. Zhongguo Shiyan Fangjixue Zazhi, 2022, 28(12): 86–95.

    Google Scholar 

  12. SONG G Q, FIOCCHI C, ACHKA J P. Acupuncture in inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis, 2019, 25(7): 1129–1139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. JOOS S, BRINKHAUS B, MALUCHE C, MAUPAI N, KOHNEN R, KRAEHMER N, HAHN E G, SCHUPPAN D. Acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of active Crohn’s disease: a randomized controlled study. Digestion, 2004, 69(3): 131–139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. BAO C H, ZHAO J M, LIU H R, LU Y, ZHU Y F, SHI Y, WENG Z J, FENG H, GUAN X, LI J, CHEN W F, WU L Y, JIN X M, DOU C Z, WU H G. Randomized controlled trial: moxibustion and acupuncture for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. World J Gastroenterol, 2014, 20(31): 11000–11011.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China, Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. Laboratory Animal—Guideline for Ethical Review of Animal Welfare (GB/T35892-2018). Bei**g: Standards Press of China, 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  16. MORRIS G P, BECK P L, HERRIDGE M S, DEPEW W T, SZEWCZUK M R, WALLACE J L. Hapten-induced model of chronic inflammation and ulceration in the rat colon. Gastroenterology, 1989, 96(3): 795–803.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. HU Y L. Handbook of Practical Animal Acupuncture-moxibustion. Bei**g: China Agricultural Press, 2014: 28–30.

    Google Scholar 

  18. LI Z R. Experimental Acupuncture Science. Bei**g: China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2007: 255.

    Google Scholar 

  19. MA X P, AN C P, WU H G, LIU H R, SHI Z, YANG L, YANG S. Herbs-partitioned moxibustion and electro-acupuncture effects on transforming growth factor-beta 1, connective tissue growth factor, collagen type I and fibronectin expression in the colon of Crohn’s disease rats. Zhongguo Zuzhi Gongcheng Yanjiu, 2008, 12(20): 3853–3858.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. XU X F, LUO A L, XU X T, LU X, WANG Y H, DUAN X Q. Study on the therapeutic effect of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde on TNBS-induced Crohn’s disease in mice based on PPARγ/AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Tianran Chanwu Yanjiu Yu Kaifa, 2022, 34(6): 925–933, 966.

    Google Scholar 

  21. SHI Y, BAO C H, WU H G, CHEN W F, QIN X D, ZHANG R, WU L Y. Effects of herbs-partitioned moxibustion on the expression of intestinal mucosa TNF-α, TNFR1, TNFR2 and apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells in Crohn disease patients. Shanghai Zhongyiyao Zazhi, 2011, 45(1): 46–50.

    Google Scholar 

  22. ZHANG J, MA X P, WU L J, LI Z Y, ZHANG D, ZHI F Y, YANG T T, WU D Y, ZHAO Y, LI Q Y. Experimental study on the regulating effect of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion on NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1β in colons of Crohn’s disease rats. Shanghai Zhenjiu Zazhi, 2019, 38(2): 119–126.

    Google Scholar 

  23. WANG W X, LIU Z J, YUE W, ZHU L, ZHONG H J, YANG C, HE T, WAN P, GENG J W. Mucosa-colonizing microbiota correlate with host autophagy signaling in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Front Microbiol, 2022, 13: 875238.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. DOU X N, QIAO L, CHANG J J, YAN S Q, SONG X F, CHEN Y, XU Q H, XU C L. Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 and it’s metabolites alleviate dextran sulphate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in mice through the NLRP3-(Caspase-1)/IL-1β pathway. Food Funct, 2021, 12(23): 12022–12035.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. SUN M M, WU W, LIU Z J, CONG Y Z. Microbiota metabolite short chain fatty acids, GPCR, and inflammatory bowel diseases. J Gastroenterol, 2017, 52(1): 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. WANG K H, ZHU W M. Advances in the role of short-chain fatty acids in Crohn’s disease. Changwai Yu Changnei Yingyang, 2019, 26(6): 366–371.

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. BAO C H, WU L Y, WANG D, CHEN L M, JIN X M, SHI Y, LI G N, ZHANG J Z, ZENG X Q, CHEN J H, LIU H R, WU H G. Acupuncture improves the symptoms, intestinal microbiota, and inflammation of patients with mild to moderate Crohn’s disease: a randomized controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine, 2022, 45: 101300.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. KONIKOFF T, GOPHNA U. Oscillospira: a central, enigmatic component of the human gut microbiota. Trends Microbiol, 2016, 24(7): 523–524.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. WALTERS W A, XU Z, KNIGHT R. Meta-analyses of human gut microbes associated with obesity and IBD. FEBS Lett, 2014, 588(22): 4223–4233.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. XU X P, XU J Q, HUANG J J, LIU J P, CHEN F M, CAI Z W, CAI Y Q, PAN Y M. Characterization of intestinal microflora in WHBE rabbit and Japanese white rabbit models of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Zhongguo Shiyan Dongwu Xuebao, 2018, 26(2): 165–173.

    Google Scholar 

  31. ZHONG L, LIN Y Y, ZHU Y, WU H G, SUN K X, HUANG Y, QI Q, WU L Y. Regulatory effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on gut microbiota of rats with Crohn’s disease based on 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Shijie Zhongyiyao, 2022, 17(3): 311–316, 322.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China (国家自然科学基金 项目, No. 81774438, No. 81603705, No. 81904097); Fund Project of Hunan Province Education Office (湖南省教育 厅资助科研项目, No. 21A0235); Projects of Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Hunan Province (湖南省中医药管理局科研项目, No. B2023109, No. C2022027); Natural Science Foundation of Changsha (长沙市自然科学基金, No. kq2208183); Science and Technology Talent-lifting Program of Hunan (湖南省科技 人才托举工程项目, No. 2019TJ-Q04); “Furong Scholar Award Program” of Hunan Province [湖南省“芙蓉学者奖 励计划”, No. 湘教通 (2020)58 号]; Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (重庆市教育委员会科学技术研 究项目, No. KJQN202002714, No. KJQN202102708); Graduate Student Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province (湖南省研究生科研创新项目, No. QL20220188); Research Fund of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine (湖南中医药大学校级科研基金, No. 2021XJJJ013, No. 2022CX108).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Acupuncture & Tuina and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, 410208, China

    Qiong Liu  (刘琼), Haolong He  (何灏龙), **g**g Yang  (阳晶晶), Sihui Cao  (曹思慧), Lin Chen  (陈琳), **gying Zhou  (周竞颖) & Mi Liu  (刘密)

  2. Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, 404120, China

    **a Liu  (刘霞)

  3. **amen University, **amen, 361102, China

    Zongbao Yang  (杨宗保)

Authors
  1. Qiong Liu  (刘琼)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Haolong He  (何灏龙)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. **g**g Yang  (阳晶晶)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sihui Cao  (曹思慧)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lin Chen  (陈琳)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. **gying Zhou  (周竞颖)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. **a Liu  (刘霞)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Zongbao Yang  (杨宗保)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Mi Liu  (刘密)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to **a Liu  (刘霞) or Mi Liu  (刘密).

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there is no potential conflict of interest in this article.

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

The treatment of animals conformed to the ethical criteria in this experiment.

Additional information

First Author: LIU Qiong, M.D., lecturer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Q., He, H., Yang, J. et al. Effect of electroacupuncture on gut microbiota and related inflammatory factors in rats with Crohn disease. J. Acupunct. Tuina. Sci. 22, 12–21 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-023-1365-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-023-1365-5

Keywords

关键词

中图分类号

文献标志码

Search

Navigation