Study on the mechanism of action of acupoint catgut embedding and herbal bath therapy on inflammatory pain in rats with rheumatoid arthritis
Objective:To observe the effects of acupoint catgut embedding combined with herbal bath therapy of Tongbi prescrip-tion on the joint inflammation score(AI),pain threshold,NF-κB signalling pathway-related protein in synovial tissues,and serum inflammatory factors of rheumatoid arthritis rats,and to explore the possible mechanism of rheumatoid arthritis treatment with acupoint burrowing combined with Tongbi prescription herbal bath.Methods:SD rats were randomly divided into normal,model,acupoint group,herbal bath therapy and cupoint catgut embedding combined with herbal bath therapy(combination)groups,n=8,and the collagen induction method was used to establish rheumatoid arthritis rat model.The acupoint group treated with acupoint embedding at"Yanglingquan(GB34)","Zusanli(ST36)","Ganshu(BL18)"and"Shenshu(BI23)"points.One treatment in 14days and three treatments for a total of 42days.The herbal bath group was given Tongbi prescription herbal bath therapy for toes and feet,once a day,25minutes each time,for a total of 42days.In the combination group,both treatments was given,with the same method and course of treatment as that of the acupoint group and the herbal bath group.The joint inflammation score(AI)was used to measure the swelling of the joints in rats,the pain threshold of rats was determined by hot water bath tail swinging method,the levels of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6and PGE2in serum were measured by ELISA,and the protein expression of NF-κB,IκB and COX-2in synovial membrane tissues of rats was measured by westernbot.Results:Compared with the normal group,the pain threshold was significantly lower and the joint score was significantly higher in the model group(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the pain threshold value of the acupoint group,herbal bath group and combination group was significantly higher(P＜0.05),and the joint score was sig-nificantly lower(P＜0.05).Compared with the normal group,the serum concentrations of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6,and PGE2in the model group were significantly higher(P＜0.05);compared with the model group,the serum concentrations of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6,and PGE2in acupoint group,herbal bath group,and the combined group were significantly lower(P＜0.05);and compared with the acupoint group group and the herbal bath group,the serum concentrations of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6,and PGE2concentrations were reduced more significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with the normal group,the expression of NF-κB and COX-2in the synovial membrane of the model group was significantly higher(P＜0.05),and IκB was significantly lower;compared with the model group,the expression of NF-κB and COX-2in the synovial membrane of the acupoint group,herbal bath group,and the combined group was significantly lower(P＜0.05),and IκB was significantly higher;and compared with the acupoint group and herbal bath group,the expression of NF-κB and COX-2 expression in the synovial membrane of the combined group was more obviously reduced(P＜0.05).Conclusion:The acupoint catgut embedding combined with herbal bath therapy can effectively reduce the serum concentrations of IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-6and PGE2,down-regulate the expression of NF-κB and COX-2and up-regulate the expression of IκB,inhibition of NF-κB/IκB signalling pathway activation for effective pain relief in rheumatoid arthritis.
万方数据
维普
