| AIM:Gastric mucosal lesion(GML),a common and intractable disease,is the first stage of many refractory gastric diseases.The symptoms of GML mainly include gastric mucosal inflammation,erosion and bleeding,which have a high clinical incidence.Our previous researches has proved that moxibustion stimulation at acupoints of stomach meridian was very effective on resisting gastric mucosa against injury.However,the related reports about the pathogenesis and pathological process of GML and therapeutic mechanism of moxibustion on GML remains insufficient.Methods:72 male Sprague Dawley(SD)rats were randomly allocated into four groups:a)normal group(group N),b)gastric mucosal lesions(GML)model group(group M),c)Moxibustion treatment at stomach meridian of Foot-Yangming(SMFY)acupoints(group MA),and d)Moxibustion at non-acupoints(group MNA)(n=18 rats each).According to the different intervention courses,all rats in each group were divided into three subgroups randomly except for control group(n=6,per subgroup).Except for control groups,all rats were established GML modeling.Group MA was moxibusted at bilateral Zusanli(ST 36)and bilateral Liangmen(ST 21)acupoints;group MNA was moxibusted at non-acupoints.Among those three groups,the model group was set for control,and the other two groups were treated 30 min by moxibustion at ST 36 and ST 21 for 1 day,4days or 7days,respectively.The four groups of rats were observed for general behavior.After the experiment,gastric mucosal tissues were collected for HE staining pathological observation,and 1H-NMR was used to detect rat serum samples for the analysis of differential metabolites mechanism.MetaboAnalyst was applied to analyze the pathways of the detected metabolic markers.Results:The general behavioral observation of the rats showed that the model rats became lethargic,indifferent,decreased mobility,quietness and less movement,and poor response flexibility.After the intervention of moxibustion,the rats’ mental state gradually recovered and became active.The results of pathological observation showed that:For group N,the structure of gastric epithelial cells was complete and the surface cells were well arranged.There was no inflammatory cell infiltration in submucosa and muscle layer;For group M at 1 day,the gastric mucosa was damaged or even disappeared;There was no tissue in submucosa and muscle layer with obvious inflammatory cell infiltration,which indicated that the model of gastric mucosal injury was successful;For group M at 4 days and 7 days,the surface epithelium of gastric mucosa was partially recovered,which indicated that the gastric mucosal injury occurred in the process of GML.For group MA,the structure of gastric mucosa was improved to varying degrees,and the infiltration of inflammatory cells was less.At days 4 and days 7,it was better than GML group at the same time point.At the same time,compared with group MNA,the surface structure of gastric mucosa,the degree of submucosal edema and the infiltration of inflammatory cells in group MA were better improved at days 4 and days 7.The results showed that moxibustion at acupoints of stomach meridian could significantly improve the damage of gastric mucosa.Comparison of serum metabolic profiles:group N and group M were well separated at three time points,which indicated the overall metabolic disorder of gastric mucosal injury model in serum.On the other hand,the metabolic profiles of rats in group M and group MA were also significantly different,which suggested that moxibustion at stomach meridian points had a good effect on gastric mucosal injury.Effects of moxibustion on the changes of related metabolic markers and pathways in rats with gastric mucosal injury:a total of 13 different metabolites in serum tissue were detected by NMR metabonomics,and the related metabolic pathway network including "Valine,leucine,and isoleucine metabolism","D-Glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism","Alanine,aspartate,and glutamate metabolism","Glycine,serine,and threonine metabolism","Glycolysis or gluconeogenesis","Taurine and hypotaurine metabolism".After summarizing,these metabolic pathways are mainly related to energy utilization,cell vitality and antioxidant capacity,and nerve conduction.Conclusion:Moxibustion at the stomach meridians acupoints can markedly ameliorate the spiritual condition of rats with gastric mucosa injury,and the pathological injuries such as inflammation,mucosa destruction and edema are all improved.In addition,metabonomics analysis showed that moxibustion significantly changed the metabolic profile of gastric mucosa injury,and demonstrated a positive effect on the changes of serum metabolites in gastric mucosa injury.The serum metabolic mechanism of moxibustion treatment of gastric mucosa injury is through the regulation of energy mediators,antioxidants,amino acids,etc.,involved in energy utilization,cell vitality,antioxidant capacity and nerve transmission pathways.These findings are helpful to clarify the therapeutic mechanism of moxibustion at stomach meridians acupoints on gastric mucosa injury. |
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