Is acupuncture better than sham acupuncture for attenuated airway inflammation and regulated cytokines produced by diverse Th subtypes in chronic OVA inhalation in asthma induced mice

IntroductionIn China, acupuncture which is part of traditional Chinese medicine is effectively used for the treatment of asthma. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on airway inflammation and the associated cytokines produced by different Th mouse subtypes induced by chronic ovalbumin (OVA) inhalation.MethodsA mouse asthma model was induced by OVA exposure. Mice were divided into 4 groups: normal control, asthma model, acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups, and acupoints GV14, BL12, BL13 and BL23 were selected for acupuncture treatment. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was analysed using Buxco RC system. Pulmonary histopathology analysis was performed by H&E staining. The inflammatory mediators assay in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum were investigated by ELISA and Bio-Plex.ResultsOur results demonstrated that acupuncture reduced AHR to methacholine (Mch) of OVA-induced asthma mice, attenuated inflammatory cells infiltration into lung and mucus secretion. Analysis of cytokines revealed that Th1 cytokine IFN-γ elevated in both BALF and serum by acupuncture treatment. Meanwhile, Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-5 levels both in BALF and serum reduced significantly compared to mice exposure to OVA. IL-17A was inhibited by acupuncture and IL-10 which is produced by Treg cells increased in BALF both by acupuncture and sham acupuncture. However, TGF-β as another mediator produced by Treg cells did not change markedly by acupuncture treatment.ConclusionThis study indicated that acupuncture treatment appeared to be effective in attenuating inflammation in mice chronically exposed to OVA. This protective effect of acupuncture might be associated with regulation of immune responses by elevating Th1 and Treg cytokines and decreasing Th2 and Th17 cytokines. This may indicate that acupuncture has a regulatory effect with the ability of resetting the Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg balance. Changes induced resulting from needling requires further investigation.