Effect of acupuncture on serum levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis related hormones and immune factors in rats with allergic rhinitis

doi:10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.02.020

Abstract

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between acupuncture treatment for allergic rhinitis (AR) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation by investigating changes in serum immune factors, HPA axis-associated hormone levels, activation levels of paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons, and the severity of nasal mucosal lesions, in rats with AR before and after acupuncture treatment.

METHODS: After establishing the AR rat model, ovalbumin was administered vianasal drip to all groups except the blank control. Each group received continuous treatment for 14 d: the acupuncture, acupuncture + RU-486 (mifepristone), and RU-486 groups received acupuncture only, RU486 intraperitoneal injection and acupuncture, and RU-486 intraperitoneal injection only, respectively. Following the intervention period, behavioral scoring was performed on all AR rats, and peripheral blood, nasal mucosa samples, and brains tissue (containing PVN region) were obtained following euthanization. Interleukin (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), corticosterone (CORT), and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels were evaluated in peripheral blood samples. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunoassay assay, and hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed on the nasal mucosa samples. The expression levels of c-Fos in PVN neurons following acupuncture treatment were evaluated by immunofluorescent staining.

RESULTS: Following the intervention period, the behavioral scores for the blank control group were lower than those of other groups (P < 0.05), while the acupuncture group scores were lower than those in the model control, acupuncture + RU486, and RU486 groups (P < 0.05). The blank control group had lower serum IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 levels than those in the other groups (P < 0.05). The acupuncture group had lower serum IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 levels than those in the model control, acupuncture + RU486, and RU486 groups (P < 0.05). The blank control group had the highest serum IFN-γ levels among all groups, followed by the acupuncture group. The serum CORT, CRH, and ACTH levels in the blank control group were lower than those in the remaining groups (P < 0.05). These biomarker levels were also lower in the acupuncture group than those in the model control, acupuncture + RU486, and RU486 groups (P < 0.05). Compared with model, rats in the acupuncture group exhibited an increased c-Fos expression in PVN neurons.

CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can alleviate AR symptoms and regulate serum inflammatory factor levels and HPA axis-related hormones in AR rats. Moreover, these effects are inhibited by glucocorticoid antagonists, suggesting that acupuncture may regulate AR symptoms through HPA axis regulation.

Key words: allergic rhinitis, acupuncture, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, immunity, glucocorticoids

KANG Jiale, DU Zhongming, GUO Wei, DU Shuo, HAN Guanxiong, CHEN Sheng. Effect of acupuncture on serum levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis related hormones and immune factors in rats with allergic rhinitis[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2025, 45(2): 359-367.

Figures/Tables 4

Figure 1 Pathological manifestations of the nasal mucosa in rats by HE staining A1-A5 (×100); B7-B12 (×400). A1, B1: Blank control; A2, B2: Model control; A3, B3: ACU, acupuncture group; A4, B4: ACU + RU486, acupuncture + RU486 group; A5, B5: RU486 group. Blank control: were raised under routine conditions, with no interventions. Model control: after model construction, nasal drips of OVA saline solution (20 mg/mL, 50 μL/ side) were administered daily for 14 d, with no other interventions. ACU: acupuncture group, after model construction, nasal drips were administered as in the model control group, in addition, the rats were treated by acupuncture at the points of the Dazhui (GV14), bilateral Feishu (BL13) and bilateral Zusanli (ST36) every other day 30 min after the nasal drip, and the needles were retained for 20 min each time. ACU+RU486: acupuncture + RU486 group, after model construction, nasal drips were administered as in the model control group, followed by IP of RU486 (45 mg/mL) in DMSO every other day and acupuncture 30 min after the injection. Acupuncture was administered as in the acupuncture group. RU486: after model construction, nasal drips were administered as in the model control group, followed by IP of RU486 (45 mg/mL) in DMSO every other day, without acupuncture interventions. HE: hematoxylin and eosin; ACU: acupuncture; RU486: mifepristone; IP: intraperitoneal injection; OVA: ovalbumin; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide.

Table 1 Serum IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IFN-γ levels in rats by group ($\bar{x}±s$)

Group	n	IL-4 (pg/mL)	IL-5 (pg/mL)	IL-13 (pg/mL)	IFN-γ (ng/mL)
Blank control	12	47.3±1.1	13.4±1.7	3.6±1.2	51.0±2.1
Model control	12	75.2±7.0^ab	54.3±2.3^ab	14.4±1.3^ab	14.7±1.8^a
Acupuncture	12	60.9±4.6^a	20.2±2.1^a	7.5±0.7^a	37.4±3.4^a
Acupuncture+RU486	12	70.7±4.1^ab	25.8±1.2^ab	12.2±1.9^ab	27.9±2.3^a
RU486	12	74.1±5.3^ab	46.6±5.0^ab	11.8±1.8^ab	20.4±3.4^a

Table 2 Serum CORT, CRH, and ACTH levels in rats by group ($\bar{x}±s$)

Group	n	CORT (ng/mL)	CRH (pg/mL)	ACTH (pg/mL)
Blank control	12	62.1±3.9	9.6±1.0	7.7±1.8
Model control	12	86.0±2.8^ab	21.8±1.2^ab	16.5±0.8^ab
Acupuncture	12	69.1±1.9^a	11.0±1.3^a	11.5±0.8^a
Acupuncture+RU486	12	82.7±2.9^ab	11.7±0.8^a	15.5±1.3^ab
RU486	12	78.6±6.2^ab	14.2±0.5^ab	14.7±2.2^ab

Figure 2 The expression levels of c-Fos in the PVN region Representative images of c-Fos-expressed neurons in the PVN region of rats in Model (A) and Acupuncture (B) groups. A: model group, B: Acupuncture group: the merge view; A1: Model group, B1: Acupuncture group: red particles in the dotted box represent c-Fos+ neurons in the PVN region; A2: Model group, B2: Acupuncture group: DAPI colored view. The PVN region is defined by dotted line. Scale bar, 500 um. C: Total number of c-Fos-expressed neurons of PVN in the two groups (n = 12 for each group, aP < 0.01 vs Model).

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