| Acupuncture has been proved to be effective by long time medical practice. Yet the mechanism has been still unclear. The effect of acupuncture is not directly on pathogenic factor or pathogenetic tissue. One of the ways of Uatment is to reconstruct the balance of immune system. So it is another hotspot to study the mechanism of acupuncture on immunoregulation after the research of acupuncture analgesia. Our experiment was undeitaken to observe the effects of acupuncture, bondage and pathogenic factor on immune system, so as to explore the mechanism of acupuncture on immunoregulaiion. In the experiment, the adjuvant aithritis (AA) model and bondage stress model were formed. Fifty-three Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven groups: normal group, AA model group, AA six points group, AA guanyuan group, bondage model group, bondage six points group and bondage guanyuan group. According to modem medical theory, we choosed six points of Ren meridian, which seated near central immune organ thymus, and according to traditional Chinese medical theory, we choosed uanyuan point, which is known to have the functions of reinforcing the kidney, enhancing the body resistance and enriching the primordial qi. Conclusions can be drawn that there were different effects resulted from different stessor and acupuncture has the functions of anti-inflammation and immunoregulation. The following results were achieved: (1) Acupuncture relieved the local inflammatory response. (2) The content of IL-2 in serum was significantly increased. It is suggested that acupuncture have the effect of enforcing cellular immunoresponse. (3) The content of 13 -endorphins decreased in hypothalamus and pituitaiy, yet increased in plasma It is suggested that acupuncture accelerated the release of 13- endorphins in hypothalamus and pituitaiy into the circulating blood, thus increase the content in blood. (4) The expression of POMC-mRNA was enhanced in anterior lobe of pituitary, which encodes a kind of peptides known as endorphins. This may be compensatory to the reduction of 13- endorphins caused by increased release, which is favorable to the effect of acupuncture. (5) Pathogenic factor and bondage had the effect of immunosuppression, which was opposite to the effect of acupuncture. It is suggested that acupuncture was an eustress. (6) There is a positive correlation between (3-endorphins and IL-2 in blood according to the correlation analysis. It can be speculated that 13- endorpbins has positive modulation effect on cellular immunoresponse. The experimental results above suggested that endogenous opioid peptides (including 13 - endorphins and its precursor POMC), as the common mediation of immune-neum-endocnne- network, play some promotional role in immunoregulation of acupuncture. |
