Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in Collagen‐Induced Arthritis Rats via Suppressing the TLR2/4‐MyD88‐NF‐κB Signaling Pathway

Sun SY, Yan QQ, Qiao LN, Shi YN, Tan LH, Yang YS · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · 2023 January

DOI 10.1155/2023/9050763

Objective

To investigate the effects of electroacupuncture intervention and oxidized 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine injection on joint pain and synovial inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis rats and their relationship with the Toll-like receptor 2/4-MyD88-nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway.

Conclusions

Repeated electroacupuncture stimulation at ST36 and SP6 effectively relieved joint pain and synovial inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis rats, potentially by inhibiting innate immune responses mediated by the Toll-like receptor 2/4-MyD88-nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway in the synovium.

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Insights

Electroacupuncture reduced arthritis pain and inflammation by suppressing synovial innate immune signalling in joint fibroblasts and macrophages.

Researchers used rats with collagen-induced arthritis and treated them with repeated electroacupuncture at Zusanli and Sanyinjiao acupoints or an oxidized phospholipid that inhibits innate immune receptor activity. They assessed pain sensitivity, paw swelling, synovial tissue damage, circulating inflammatory proteins, and inflammatory signalling proteins in synovial tissue and cells. Both electroacupuncture and the oxidized phospholipid reduced pain, swelling, synovial damage, and inflammatory proteins in the blood. Electroacupuncture also decreased toll-like receptor expression in synovial fibroblasts and macrophages, indicating that its benefits may arise from suppressing receptor-driven inflammatory signalling within the joint.