Acupuncture alters pro-inflammatory cytokines in the plasma of maternally separated rat pups.

Objective: To investigate the potential alleviating effects of acupuncture on maternal separation (MS)-induced changes in plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of rat pups.

Methods: On postnatal day 15, rat pups were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n=6 per group) using a random number table: normal, MS, MS with acupuncture stimulation at Shenmen (HT 7) acupoint (MS+HT 7), and MS with acupuncture stimulation at Chengshan (BL 57) acupoint (MS+BL 57) groups. Rat pups in the normal group were housed with their mothers under standard conditions; those in the MS, MS+HT 7 and MS+BL 57 groups were maternally separated and individually maintained. Acupuncture stimulation was performed at HT 7 or BL 57 acupoints once a day for 7 consecutive days. A tail suspension test was performed to measure immobility time of rats and the plasma was collected on postnatal day 21, then levels of corticosterone (CORT), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in plasma were measured.

Results: Compared with the normal group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF in the MS group were significantly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the MS group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF were significantly reduced in the MS+HT 7 group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, the immobility time and plasma levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the MS+HT 7 group were significantly lower than those in the MS+BL 57 group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Acupuncture stimulation at HT 7 can alleviate the behavioral impairment and changes of the cytokines by MS, indicating that acupuncture can help to relieve MS-induced depression.