Electroacupuncture at a leg acupuncture point protected the gut barrier and distant organs after intestinal blood-flow injury by activating vagal cholinergic signalling.
Rats underwent temporary interruption and restoration of intestinal blood flow, followed by electroacupuncture at a leg point. Researchers compared this treatment with stimulation at non-acupuncture points, direct vagus nerve stimulation, and administration of a cholinergic activating drug. They also blocked vagal signalling through abdominal vagus nerve cutting or a drug that inhibited a cholinergic receptor. Blood, intestinal, lung, and liver samples were assessed for inflammatory markers, while intestinal damage, permeability, and tight-junction protein integrity were examined using tissue staining, fluorescence imaging, and protein analysis.
Electroacupuncture reduced inflammatory signals in the circulation and multiple organs, preserved the intestinal barrier, limited leakage across the gut wall, and maintained the expression and placement of a key tight-junction protein. These protective effects disappeared when the vagus nerve was interrupted or cholinergic receptor activity was blocked, indicating that vagal cholinergic signalling mediates the treatment’s benefits.
