Acupuncture may reduce inflammation by shifting immune cells from inflammatory to tissue-repairing states through nervous, hormonal, and immune-system signalling.
The paper synthesised evidence on acupuncture’s anti-inflammatory effects across several body systems, focusing on macrophages, immune cells that can adopt either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory tissue-repairing roles. It examined how local tissue conditions, external signals, immune-cell activity, autonomic nervous system regulation, and hormonal stress responses may interact to influence this immune-cell shift.
The authors conclude that acupuncture is associated with reduced inflammatory macrophage activity, increased anti-inflammatory macrophage activity, and altered secretion of immune signalling molecules. They propose that changes in lymphocyte activity, autonomic nervous system signalling, and hormonal stress regulation may act upstream of macrophage changes, making macrophage polarization a central mechanism for acupuncture’s immune-regulating effects in inflammatory conditions.
