Effects of acupuncture on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Current status and future perspectives.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a critical component of the neuroendocrine system, playing a central role in regulating the body's stress response and modulating various physiological processes. Dysregulation of HPA axis function disrupts the neuroendocrine equilibrium, resulting in impaired physiological functions. Acupuncture is recognized as a non-pharmacological type of therapy which has been confirmed to play an important role in modulating the HPA axis and thus favorably targets diseases with abnormal activation of the HPA axis.

Arginine Vasopressin and Arginine Vasopressin Receptor 1b Involved in Electroacupuncture-Attenuated Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Hyperactivity in Hepatectomy Rats.

Objective: The study aims to know the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in maintenance of the homeostasis of the neuroendocrine system in hepatectomy rats and the involvement of arginine vasopressin (AVP) signaling in hypothalamus after EA was observed.

Materials And Methods: Rats were randomly assigned to four groups, including the intact group, model group, sham-EA group, and EA group. EA was given during the perioperative period at the Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) points after hepatectomy.

[Effects of Nourishing Yin Removing Fire Chinese Herbs on Gene Expression of Hypothalamic Ghrelin and its Receptor in Female Precocious Rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of nourishing yin removing fire Chinese herbs (NYRF-CH) on the gene expression of hypothalamic growth hormone secretion peptide (Ghrelin) and its receptor growth hormone secretion peptide receptor 1alpha (GHSR1-alpha) at the puberty onset of danazol induced female precocious rats.

Methods: Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, i.e.

[Effect of electroacupuncture intervention on expression of corticotropin-releasing factor protein in hypothalamus and hippocampus of traumatized rats].

Objective: To observe changes of anesthesia analepsia time and hypothalamic and hippocampal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) protein expression after electroacupuncture (EA) intervention in acute traumatic rats, in order to explore its mechanism underlying relief of post-operative stress.

Methods: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, sham EA group and EA group (5 rats/group). Acute traumatic model was established by left lobectomy.

[Neurokinkin B and it's function on reproductive endocrine].

Neurokinkin B (NKB) is a member of tachykinin family and plays a role mainly through its receptor NK3R. NKB and NK3R are wide spread through the neural system. Studies revealed that NKB has kinds of biological functions such as constringing the smooth muscle of hollow viscus, relaxing blood vessels, reducing mean arterial pressure, slowing heart rate, exciting in vitro spinal cord neurons of rats and astringing sphincter pupillae.

[Effects of electroacupuncture on the expression of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family and CRF receptor 1 in traumatic injury rats].

Objective: To observe the effects of electroacupunture (EA) on the abnormal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the expression of hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) peptides family and CRF receptor (R)1 mRNA in traumatized rats, so as to study its underlying mechanism in improving traumatic injury.

Methods: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n=10), normal+ EA group (n=10), surgical trauma (model) group (n=10), and model+ EA group (n=10). Traumatic injury model was established by performing an exploratory laparotomy in the rats under anesthesia.

Electroacupuncture stimulates hypothalamic aromatization.

We have previously reported that the repeated electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation significantly increased the concentrations of circulating estradiol and restored the depressed function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis (HPOA) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. We hypothesize that extragonadal aromatization in specific brain areas might be responsible for these changes. Thus, various assays, including radiometric assay, Western blot, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), were employed to determine the aromatization in the hypothalamus of rats that received both OVX and electroacupuncture (OVX + EA).

Decreased hypothalamic aromatization in female rats of true precocious puberty.

The true precocious puberty animal model induced by the single dose of danazol was used for investigating the expressions of hypothalamic aromatase in the advanced onset of puberty in rats. The day of vaginal opening and first estrus showed significant advancement in the model rats compared with the normal and vehicle rats (P < 0.01, respectively).

Increased corticortropin-releasing hormone release in ovariectomized rats' paraventricular nucleus: effects of electroacupuncture.

Utilizing push-pull perfusion, we examined secretary profiles of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the nucleus paraventricularis (PVN) of freely moving intact (INT) and ovariectomized (OVX) rats, and in the meanwhile the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on the release patterns of CRH were observed. The PVN was perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid between 08:00 and 12:00 h, and perfusates were collected every 10 min. The average CRH output was significantly larger in OVX rats than that in INT and INT with EA (INT+EA) groups.

[Effect of Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin and purging fire on mRNA expressions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in precocious puberty model rats].

Objective: To probe the mechanism of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for nourishing Yin and purging Fire on the expressions of gonadotropin-release hormone (GnRH) and its mRNA expression in hypothalamus and GnRH receptor mRNA in pituitary in danazol induced precocious puberty model rats.

Methods: Rats were divided into the normal group, the model group, the blank control group and the CHM group. Rats, except that in the normal group, were subcutaneously administered danazol 300 micrograms at 5 days of age individually and CHM was fed to rats in the CHM group from 15 days of age, in the meantime, normal saline was fed to rats in the blank control group.

An important role of corticotropin-releasing hormone in electroacupuncture normalizing the subnormal function of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis in ovariectomized rats.

In the present study, the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at a group of specific acupoints on corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) immunoreactivity (ir) in the hypothalamuses of ovariectomized rats were observed. Meanwhile the blood E2 level was detected. The results showed that EA might significantly increase the blood level of E2 and GnRH cell number in the ovariectomized rats.