Electroacupuncture: A Feasible Sirt1 Promoter Which Modulates Metainflammation in Diet‐Induced Obesity Rats

Abstract

It is generally accepted that metainflammation, a state of chronic and low-grade inflammation in obesity, plays a great role in metabolic disorder like insulin resistance. To gain further insight into the mechanism of metainflammation and find feasible therapy of obesity, diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats model and Electroacupuncture (EA) treatment were established in this trail. The results indicated that rising Lee's index, hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, and increasing inflammation factors including NF-κB, TNF-α, and Macrophages 1 were determined in DIO rats while EA is exhibiting an effective intervention. Furthermore, to clarify this phenomenon and provide new recognition of alternative medicine for the treatment of metainflammation, we found that EA activating Sirt1 and Sirt1-dependent deacetylation of histone (H3K9) was the key of modulation. It should be noted that, while possible, the activating of Sirt1 could lead to deacetylation of NF-κB also. In this study, the deacetylation of NF-κB depended on higher level of Sirt1 than H3K9, which suggested that the deacetylation via Sirt1 in metainflammation could be specific and programmed.

Electroacupuncture Combined With Diet Treatment Has a Therapeutic Effect on Perimenopausal Patients With Abdominal Obesity by Improving the Community Structure of Intestinal Flora

“…In comparison, dietary intervention has proved to be a healthy and effective way to lose weight, but it needs long-term persistence. Accumulating studies have indicated that electroacupuncture can treat abdominal obesity safely and effectively, mainly by stimulating the body’s meridians and acupoints, improving body condition as a whole, regulating intake and enhancing body metabolism, so as to achieve the purpose of weight loss and waist thinning ( Wang et al, 2008 ; Lei et al, 2017 ; Chen et al, 2018 ; Luo et al, 2018 ; Huang et al, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ). However, the effect mechanism of electroacupuncture on abdominal obesity in perimenopausal women is still dearth of in-depth exploration.…”

Obesity Animal Models for Acupuncture and Related Therapy Research Studies

“…Most acupuncture or EA research studies using rodent models benefited from previously published studies for the acupoints localization [ 85 , 110 ] or adapted the definition of rodent acupoints on the basis of the human anatomical acupoints location [ 88 , 104 ]. To date, we found no clear and systematic description of rodent acupoints in the general and scientific literature [ 96 , 112 ], besides the fact that many acupoints cannot be identified in rodents because of significant anatomical differences compared to humans. Humans sleep and rest at night, which is consistent with the meridian work (circular motion) time dependent on the circadian rhythm, but rats and mice, as nocturnal species, normally exercised at night and sleep during daytime.…”

Hypothesis paper: electroacupuncture targeting the gut–brain axis to modulate neurocognitive determinants of eating behavior—toward a proof of concept in the obese minipig model

“…In anaesthetized minipigs, rather than relying on the individual’s feedback, we will look for objectifiable criteria, such as muscle contraction. This is the case in rats for example, where Luo et al [ 15 ] selected 2-Hz continuous wave for 10 min, with an intensity starting from 1 mA and progressively increasing until the induction of slight muscle contraction. In mice, Choowanthanapakorn et al [ 93 ] used 2-Hz frequency, 100-μs duration, with an intensity of 1 mA for 15 min, whereas Lim et al [ 69 ] selected 1-Hz frequency, 2-ms pulse duration, and 1-V voltage for 30 min.…”

“…In multiple clinical studies, significant outcomes of acupuncture or EA were found on the body mass index, weight loss, waist circumference, fat mass, total cholesterol, and plasma triglycerides [12]. Many researchers hypothesized that these therapeutic strategies modulate complex processes involving the gastrointestinal tract, related hormones, and the central and autonomic nervous systems [12,13], also inhibiting inflammatory signals [14][15][16]. EA consists in applying a slight electric stimulation to the acupuncture needles to potentiate the expected effects of acupuncture alone.…”