Electroacupuncture promotes macrophage/microglial M2 polarization and suppresses inflammatory pain through AMPK.

Inflammatory pain, the most prevalent disease globally, remains challenging to manage. Electroacupuncture emerges as an effective therapy, yet its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study investigates whether adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-regulated silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) contributes to electroacupuncture's antinociceptive effects by modulating macrophage/microglial polarization in the spinal dorsal horn of a mouse model of inflammatory pain.

[Involvement of miR-34a and p53 protein of cerebral cortex in electroacpuncture analgesia in mice with neuropathic pain].

Objective: To explore the involvement of miR-34a in cerebral cortex mediated anti-hyperalgesic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in mice with neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve, so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of neuropathic pain.

Methods: A total of 75 male C57BL/6 mice were equally randomized into 3 groups: sham, CCI model and CCI+EA (=25 in each group). Mice of the sham group received simple separation of the right sciatic nerve without ligation.