Advanced Search

Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2022 , Vol. 42 >Issue 5: 732 - 740

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20220719.001

Research Articles

Electroacupuncture at Tianshu (ST25) and Zusanli (ST36) alleviates stress-induced irritable bowel syndrome in mice by modulating gut microbiota and corticotropin-releasing factor

  • Mengzhu SUN ,
  • Yujie ZHANG ,
  • Yafang SONG ,
  • Jing GUO ,
  • Tingting ZHAO ,
  • Yuhang WANG ,
  • Lixia PEI ,
  • Jianhua SUN
Expand
  • 1 Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Meidicne, Nanjing 210023, China
    2 Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
Prof. PEI Lixia, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China. plx11801758@163.com Telephone: +86-13851402838; +86-13914722816; +86-18851182170
Prof. SUN Jianhua, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China. drjhsun@sina.com;

Received date: 2021-07-06

  Accepted date: 2021-10-14

  Online published: 2022-07-19

Supported by

Natural Science Foundation-funded Project: Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Regulating CRF-NLRP6 Inflammasome-Related Pathways in Intestinal Flora Immune Dialogue(81804193);Leading Talents of Jiangsu Provincial Administration of TCM-funded Project: Clinical Effect and Mechanism of Acupuncture and Moxibustion on Irritable Bowel Syndrome(SLJ0206);eak Talent of Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine-funded Project: Clinical Effect and Mechanism of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in the Treatment of Functional Gastrointestinal Diseases(y2018rc05);Research and Innovation Project for Postgraduates of Jiangsu Province-funded Project: Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Regulating Bile Acid Receptor to Alleviate Visceral Hypersensitivity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome(YCX20_1469)

Fold

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA) at bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints could alleviate stress-induced irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and evaluate its effect on gut microbiota and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF).

METHODS: Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the normal, water avoidance stress (WAS), and WAS+EA groups (10 mice per group). An experimental model of IBS was established by exposing the animals to WAS. The mice were treated with EA at the bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints. The abdominal withdrawal reflex test was conducted to evaluate visceral sensitivity in IBS. Gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and analysis. The expression of CRF was determined using immune-ofluorescence and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS: EA alleviated visceral hypersensitivity in a mouse model of WAS-induced IBS. It modulated the dysbiosis of gut microbiota induced by WAS. Moreover, it suppressed the WAS-induced overexpression of CRF in colon tissues.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that EA alleviated WAS-induced IBS via mechanisms possibly involving the modulation of the dysbiosis of gut microbiota and suppression of CRF expression.

Key words： electroacupuncture; irritable bowel syndrome; gastrointestinal microbiome; corticotropin-releasing hormone

Cite this article

Mengzhu SUN , Yujie ZHANG , Yafang SONG , Jing GUO , Tingting ZHAO , Yuhang WANG , Lixia PEI , Jianhua SUN . Electroacupuncture at Tianshu (ST25) and Zusanli (ST36) alleviates stress-induced irritable bowel syndrome in mice by modulating gut microbiota and corticotropin-releasing factor[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2022 , 42(5) : 732 -740 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20220719.001

References

1. Sultan S, Malhotra A. Irritable bowel syndrome. Ann Intern Med 2017; 166: ITC81-96.
2. Canavan C, West J, Card T. Review article: the economic impact of the irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2014; 40: 1023-34.
3. Koloski NA, Jones M, Talley NJ. Evidence that independent gut-to-brain and brain-to-gut pathways operate in the irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia: a 1-year population-based prospective study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2016; 44: 592-600.
4. Tache Y, Larauche M, Yuan PQ, Million M. Brain and gut CRF signaling: biological actions and role in the gastrointestinal tract. Curr Mol Pharmacol 2018; 11: 51-71.
5. Gué M, Del Rio-Lacheze C, Eutamene H, Théodorou V, Fioramonti J, Buéno L. Stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity to rectal distension in rats: role of CRF and mast cells. Neurogastroenterol Motil 1997; 9: 271-9.
6. Schwetz I, McRoberts JA, Coutinho SV, et al. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 mediates acute and delayed stress-induced visceral hyperalgesia in maternally separated Long-Evans rats. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2005; 289: G704-12.
7. Lynch SV, Pedersen O. The human intestinal microbiome in health and disease. N Engl J Med 2016; 375: 2369-79.
8. Maharshak N, Ringel Y, Katibian D, et al. Fecal and mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Dig Dis Sci 2018; 63: 1890-99.
9. Botschuijver S, Roeselers G, Levin E, et al. Intestinal fungal dysbiosis is associated with visceral hypersensitivity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and rats. Gastroenterology 2017; 153: 1026-39.
10. Crouzet L, Gaultier E, Del'Homme C, et al. The hypersensitivity to colonic distension of IBS patients can be transferred to rats through their fecal microbiota. Neurogastroenterol Motil 2013; 25: e272-82.
11. Preston K, Krumian R, Hattner J, de Montigny D, Stewart M, Gaddam S. Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285, Lactobacillus casei LBC80R and Lactobacillus rhamnosus CLR2 improve quality-of-life and IBS symptoms: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study. Benef Microbes 2018; 9: 697-706.
12. Ait-Belgnaoui A, Payard I, Rolland C, et al. Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus helveticus synergistically suppress stress-related visceral hypersensitivity through hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis modulation. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2018; 24: 138-46.
13. Burokas A, Moloney RD, Dinan TG, Cryan JF. Microbiota regulation of the Mammalian gut-brain axis. Adv Appl Microbiol 2015; 91:1-62.
14. Moloney RD, Johnson AC, O'Mahony SM, Dinan TG, Greenwood-Van Meerveld B, Cryan JF. Stress and the microbiota-gut-brain axis in visceral pain: relevance to irritable bowel syndrome. CNS Neurosci Ther 2016; 22: 102-17.
15. Chen Y, Zhao Y, Luo DN, Zheng H, Li Y, Zhou SY. Electroacupuncture regulates disorders of gut-brain interaction by decreasing corticotropin-releasing factor in a rat model of IBS. Gastroenterol Res Pract 2019; 2019: 1759842.
16. Song YF, Pei LX, Chen L, et al. Electroacupuncture relieves irritable bowel syndrome by regulating IL-18 and gut microbial dysbiosis in a trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced post-inflammatory animal model. Am J Chin Med 2020; 48: 77-90.
17. Pei LX, Zhang W, Song YF, et al. Electroacupuncture of “Tianshu” (ST25) suppresses visceral pain possibly by down-regulating mast cell activation, and tryptase and SP expression in rats with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu 2018; 43: 419-23.
18. Fourie NH, Wang D, Abey SK, et al. Structural and functional alterations in the colonic microbiome of the rat in a model of stress induced irritable bowel syndrome. Gut Microbes 2017; 8: 33-45.
19. Al-Chaer ED, Kawasaki M, Pasricha PJ. A new model of chronic visceral hypersensitivity in adult rats induced by colon irritation during postnatal development. Gastroenterology 2000; 119: 1276-85.
20. Song Y, Geng H, Chen L, et al. Electroacupuncture relieves irritable bowel syndrome by increasing expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain protein-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 6 in water-avoidance stress mice. J Tradit Chin Med 2020; 40: 407-13.
21. Han JS. Acupuncture: neuropeptide release produced by electrical stimulation of different frequencies. Trends Neurosci 2003; 26: 17-22.
22. Backhed F, Fraser CM, Ringel Y, et al. Defining a healthy human gut microbiome: current concepts, future directions, and clinical applications. Cell Host Microbe 2012; 12: 611-22.
23. Rajilić-Stojanović M, Jonkers DM, Salonen A, et al. Intestinal microbiota and diet in IBS: causes, consequences, or epiphenomena? Am J Gastroenterol 2015; 110: 278-87.
24. Jeffery IB, O'Toole PW, Öhman L, et al. An irritable bowel syndrome subtype defined by species-specific alterations in faecal microbiota. Gut 2012; 61: 997-1006.
25. Gagliardi A, Totino V, Cacciotti F, et al. Rebuilding the gut microbiota ecosystem. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018; 15: 1679.
26. Tap J, Derrien M, Törnblom H, et al. Identification of an intestinal microbiota signature associated with severity of irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology 2017; 152: 111-23.
27. Wang JM, Yang MX, Wu QF, et al. Improvement of intestinal flora: accompany with the antihypertensive effect of electroacupuncture on stage 1 hypertension. Chin Med 2021; 16: 7.
28. Gorbach SL. Probiotics in the third millennium. Dig Liver Dis 2002; 34 Suppl 2: S2-7.
29. Preston K, Krumian R, Hattner J, de Montigny D, Stewart M, Gaddam S. Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285, Lactobacillus casei LBC80R and Lactobacillus rhamnosus CLR2 improve quality-of-life and IBS symptoms: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study. Benef Microbes 2018; 9: 697-706.
30. Zhang L, Chen X, Wang H, et al. "Adjusting internal organs and dredging channel" electroacupuncture ameliorates insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus by regulating the intestinal flora and inhibiting inflammation. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes 2021; 14: 2595-607.
31. Hou TS, Han XX, Yang Y, et al. Effect of electroacupuncture intervention on enteric microecology in ulcerative colitis rats. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu 2014; 39: 27-34.
32. Gracie DJ, Hamlin PJ, Ford AC. The influence of the brain-gut axis in inflammatory bowel disease and possible implications for treatment. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019; 4: 632-42.
Options
Outlines

/

〈 〉