Effect of electroacupuncture on pain threshold and activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with neuropathic pain

WANG Jing; YIN Zhiyu; GUO Jun; ZHOU Yalan; TANG Wei

doi:10.16305/j.1007-1334.2025.2306007

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Effect of electroacupuncture on pain threshold and activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with neuropathic pain

更新时间：2025-04-02

- Effect of electroacupuncture on pain threshold and activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with neuropathic pain
- Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Vol. 59, Issue 4, Pages: 8-12(2025)
- 作者机构：
  
  上海中医药大学附属曙光医院麻醉科（上海 200021）
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.16305/j.1007-1334.2025.2306007
  CLC：
- Received：03 June 2023，
  
  Published：10 April 2025
- 稿件说明：
移动端阅览
汪静,殷智宇,郭君,等.电针对神经病理性疼痛大鼠痛阈值及脊髓小胶质细胞M1/M2活化状态的影响[J].上海中医药杂志,2025,59(4):8-12.

WANG Jing,YIN Zhiyu,GUO Jun,et al.Effect of electroacupuncture on pain threshold and activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with neuropathic pain[J].Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2025,59(4):8-12.
汪静,殷智宇,郭君,等.电针对神经病理性疼痛大鼠痛阈值及脊髓小胶质细胞M1/M2活化状态的影响[J].上海中医药杂志,2025,59(4):8-12. DOI： 10.16305/j.1007-1334.2025.2306007.

WANG Jing,YIN Zhiyu,GUO Jun,et al.Effect of electroacupuncture on pain threshold and activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with neuropathic pain[J].Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2025,59(4):8-12. DOI： 10.16305/j.1007-1334.2025.2306007.

摘要

目的

观察电针对脊神经根结扎（SNL）大鼠的痛阈值和脊髓小胶质细胞M1/M2活化状态的影响，探讨电针参与慢性疼痛调控的可能机制。

方法

成年雄性SD大鼠随机分为4组：假手术（Sham）组、SNL组、SNL+电针（SNL+EA）组和SNL+假电针（SNL+Non-EA）组，每组8只。除Sham组外其余组均通过L5脊神经根结扎建立SNL大鼠模型，Sham组大鼠仅暴露左侧L5脊神经根，不进行结扎。SNL+EA组术后次日开始电针刺激，选取双侧“环跳穴”（GB30）、“足三里穴”（ST36），每天1次，每次30 min，强度2 mA，频率2 Hz，持续14 d。SNL+Non-EA组于穴位右侧旁开0.5 cm处行电针干预，操作、电针参数及疗程同SNL+EA组。术后第1、3、7、10、14天测试大鼠机械缩足阈值（PWMT）和热缩足反射潜伏期（PWL）；术后第14天取大鼠脊髓腰膨大，采用Western blot法检测CD86、CD206的表达量，酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法检测肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素（IL）-1β、IL-6和IL-10的表达。

结果

与Sham组相比，SNL组大鼠术后第1、3、7、10、14 天PWMT、PWL均降低（

0.05）；SNL+EA组较SNL组，大鼠PWMT和PWL在术后第3、7、10、14天明显回升（

0.05）。SNL组的小胶质细胞M1型、M2型标记物CD86、CD206较Sham组表达明显增多（

0.05）；而SNL+EA组较SNL组，CD86的表达降低，CD206表达升高（

0.05）。SNL+EA组大鼠脊髓TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6表达较SNL组减少，而IL-10表达增多（

0.05）。

结论

电针可有效缓解SNL大鼠的痛觉过敏，其机制可能与调控脊髓小胶质细胞活化状态及脊髓炎症因子的表达有关。

Abstract

Objective

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture （EA） on the pain threshold and the activation of spinal microglia M1/M2 in rats with spinal nerve ligation （SNL）， so as to explore the possible mechanism of EA in the regulation of chronic pain.

Methods

Adult male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups： Sham， SNL， SNL+EA and SNL+Non-EA. The SNL model was established by L5 spinal nerve ligation in all groups except the Sham group， and only the left L5 spinal nerve root was exposed in the Sham group. In the SNL+EA group， EA was applied to bilateral Huantiao （GB30） and Zusanli （ST36） from the next day after SNL， 30 min each time， 2 mA in intensity and 2 Hz in frequency， once a day for 14 days. In the SNL+Non-EA group， EA was applied 0.5 cm lateral to the right side of the acupoints. The operation， EA parameters and course of treatment were the same as in the SNL+EA group. Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold （PWMT） and paw withdrawal latency （PWL） were measured on the 1， 3， 7， 10 and 14 days after operation. On the 14 days after operation， the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord was harvested for the determination of the expression of CD86 and CD206 by Western blot， and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-1β， IL-6 and IL-10 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）.

Results

Compared with the Sham group， PWMT and PWL in the SNL group were significantly decreased （

0.05） on the 1， 3， 7， 10， 14 days after SNL； PWMT and PWL in the SNL+EA group were significantly higher than those in the SNL group on the 3， 7， 10 and 14 days after operation（

0.05）. The expressions of M1 and M2 markers CD86 and CD206 in microglia were significantly increased in the SNL group compared with the Sham group （

0.05）； Compared with the SNL group， the expression of CD86 was decreased and CD206 was increased in the SNL+EA group （

0.05）. The expression of TNF-α， IL-1β and IL-6 in spinal cord of SNL+EA group was lower than that of the SNL group， while the expression of IL-10 was higher than that of the SNL group （

0.05）.

Conclusion

EA can effectively alleviate hyperalgesia in SNL rats， and its mechanism may be related to regulating the activation of spinal microglia and the expression of inflammatory factors in the spinal cord.

关键词

Keywords

references

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