Systemic Wound Healing Associated with local sub-Cutaneous Mechanical Stimulation

Abstract

Degeneration is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases, whose incidence grows worldwide. Current therapies attempt to control the immune response to limit degeneration, commonly promoting immunodepression. Differently, mechanical stimulation is known to trigger healing (regeneration) and it has recently been proposed locally for its therapeutic potential on severely injured areas. As the early stages of healing consist of altered intra- and inter-cellular fluxes of soluble molecules, we explored the potential of this early signal to spread, over time, beyond the stimulation district and become systemic, to impact on distributed or otherwise unreachable injured areas. We report in a model of arthritis in rats how stimulations delivered in the subcutaneous dorsal tissue result, over time, in the control and healing of the degeneration of the paws’ joints, concomitantly with the systemic activation of wound healing phenomena in blood and in correlation with a more eubiotic microbiome in the gut intestinal district.

Gene Co-expression Network Analysis Associated with Acupuncture Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Animal Model

“…This could indicate blood formation and improved oxygen transport in the body. On the other hand, this could also be an effect of the CIA-treatment which is causing increased blood flow in the skin in the CIA rats [2]. The GO results are consistent with the KEGG pathway analysis results, where porphyrin metabolism is the most significant KEGG pathway.…”

“…The acupuncture was performed by inserting a thin needle and twirling for 20 seconds clockwise every other day. The insertion points used were similar to earlier studies on classical Chinese medicine as described by Nardini et al [2].…”

“…The output files were analyzed using the mas5 function from the R package affy to generate expression intensities for each probe. Details on raw microarray data pre-processing (QC and normalization) are described in Nardini et al [2].…”

“…disease status, treatment, and patient prognosis. Using an animal model of RA, Nardini et al [2] analyzed single gene expression patterns in association with acupuncture treatment of RA in rats and reported a reduced inflammatory response. In this study, a network-based analysis was used to detect and examine gene cluster profiles that are co-expressed during acupuncture treatment.…”

Host-Microbiome Synergistic Control on Sphingolipid Metabolism by Mechanotransduction in Model Arthritis

“…To shed light on the interplay among mechanosensing (in view of biologic-free approaches), GI microbiome and autoimmunity, we here explore the crosstalk between host and GI microbiome signaling functions in rats affected by model rheumatoid arthritis (CIA) and treated by mechanical stimulation (MS [15,16]). Embracing rather than avoiding the complexity of the disease, we propose a methodology that not only identifies the alterations of synergistic host-microbial functions in this specific case, but also by being general in nature, remains reusable in the investigation of a variety of host-microbiome interactions.…”