Effects Of Acupuncture On The Structure And Function Of Salivary Glands In NOD Mice With Sjogren’s Syndrome

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture on NOD mice with Sjogren’s syndrome,by observing the general condition of mice,saliva secretion and pathological changes of salivary glands,detecting serum interleukin 17,tumor necrosis factor alpha and the expression of submandibular aquaporin 1,aquaporin 5,and the protein expression of interferon alpha 5.To explore the effect of acupuncture on local dry mouth symptoms and overall immune abnormalities in NOD mice with Sjogren’s syndrome.Methods Twenty-four NOD mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:model group,acupuncture group,anesthetic control group,western medicine group,with 6 mice in each group;and 6 BALB/c mice as normal group.After inhalation anesthesia in the acupuncture group,acupuncture Lianquan point and Jianche points,leaving the needle for 20 minutes,once a day.The anesthetic control group was given inhalation anesthesia at the same time,20 minutes each time,once a day.Western medicine group was given 0.2 mL hydroxychloroquine sulfate suspension,once a day;the rest of normal control group,model group,acupuncture group,and anesthetic control group were given 0.2ml pure water,once a day.The above groups were intervened for 4 weeks,during the intervention,the general condition,body weight,daily water intake and weekly saliva flow rate of each group were observed and recorded;after the intervention,the submandibular gland index was measured and the pathological changes of the submandibular gland were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining.The expression levels of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin5 in the submandibular gland tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.Serum interleukin 17,tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,and the levels of protein expression of interferon alpha.in submandibular gland tissues were measured by Western blotting.Results 1.Acupuncture improves water intake and saliva flow rate of NOD model mice:Compared with mice in each group,there was no significant difference in the effects of different intervention methods on the body weight of mice of the same age(p>0.05).At 9 weeks of age,the NOD model mice in each group had significantly more water intake than the normal control group(p<0.05),and saliva flow rate was significantly reduced(p<0.05);at 13 weeks of age,the increase of the water intake of the acupuncture group mice was significantly improved compared with before the intervention(p<0.05).Compared with the model group mice of the same age,there was a decreasing trend,but there was no statistical difference(p>0.05).Compared with the model group mice,The saliva secretion of mice in the acupuncture group was also significantly improved(p<0.05).2.Acupuncture inhibits the infiltration of lymphocytes in the submandibular gland of NOD model mice and increases the expression of aquaporin:At 13 weeks of age,the submandibular gland index of the NOD model mice in each group was significantly higher than that of the normal control group(p<0.01),the number of lymphocytes infiltrated by the submandibular gland increased,the area increased,the size of acinar was different,and the structure was destroyed.The expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 5 in the submandibular gland tissue was significantly reduced(p<0.01),the protein expression of interferon a was significantly increased(p<0.01),and the tumor necrosis factor a in serum was significantly increased(p<0.01).Compared with the model group,the submandibular gland index of mice in the acupuncture group decreased significantly(p<0.05),the number and area of submandibular gland lymphocyte infiltration foci were reduced,and the expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 5 in submandibular gland tissue was significantly increased(p<0.01),the serum tumor necrosis factor alpha content and the interferon alpha protein expression in the submandibular gland tissue have a downward trend,but there is no statistical difference(p>0.05).There was no significant difference in the level of inflammatory factor interleukin-17 in the serum of mice in each group(p>0.05).Conclusion 1.Acupuncture at Lianquan and Jiache points can reduce the amount of water and increase the saliva flow rate in NOD mice,that is,acupuncture can improve the symptoms of local dry mouth like Sjogren’s syndrome;2.Acupuncture can inhibit the infiltration of submandibular gland lymphocytes and increase the expression of submandibular gland aquaporin.That is,acupuncture can reduce the inflammation of the salivary glands and improve the symptoms of dry mouth in Sjogren’s syndrome by changing the structure and function of the salivary glands,which is a treatment for dryness by acupuncture.The basic and clinical research of the syndrome provides a theoretical basis;3.Acupuncture did not significantly improve the protein expression of serum inflammatory factors interleukin 17,tumor necrosis factor alpha and submandibular gland tissue interferon alpha in NOD mice.It needs to be further discussed in combination with basic experiments and clinical research.