%0 Journal Article
%T Electroacupuncture at the ST36 acupoint increases interleukin-4 responsiveness in macrophages, generation of alternatively activated macrophages and susceptibility to Leishmania major infection
%A Danillo N Aguiar
%A Mayara M Silva
%A Walki V Parreira
%A Fernanda D Tome
%A Lucas F Batista
%A Clayson M Gomes
%A Milton AP Oliveira
%J Chinese Medicine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1749-8546-7-17
%X BALB/c mice were treated with EA (15/30£¿Hz) at the ST36 acupoint for 20£¿min/d for 5 d. After the final EA session, the mice were euthanized and their peritoneal cells were harvested and counted for determination of arginase activity, nitric oxide (NO) production and microbicidal activity after culture in the presence or absence of IL-4, interferon-¦Ã (IFN¦Ã) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or both IFN¦Ã and LPS. Twelve mice were infected with L. major promastigotes into the footpads after the final EA session and the infection course was monitored.Peritoneal cells freshly obtained from EA-treated mice had similar arginase and microbicidal activities to cells from sham-treated mice. After culture with IL-4, cells from EA-treated mice exhibited significant increases in the arginase activity (sham: 58£¿¡À£¿11.3 vs. EA: 80.7£¿¡À£¿4.6%, P£¿=£¿0.025) and number of parasites/infected cell (sham: 2.5£¿¡À£¿0.4 vs. EA: 4.3£¿¡À£¿0.8 cells, P£¿=£¿0.007). The NO production was lower in cells from EA-treated mice cultured in the presence of a combination of IFN¦Ã and LPS (sham: 31.6£¿¡À£¿6.5 vs. EA: 22.3£¿¡À£¿2.1£¿¦ÌM, P£¿=£¿0.025). The lesion size in mice infected with L. major promastigotes was larger in EA-treated mice (sham: 3.26£¿¡À£¿0.29 vs. EA: 2.23£¿¡À£¿0.4£¿mm, P£¿=£¿0.039).EA at the ST36 acupoint increases IL-4 responsiveness in macrophages, Generation of AAMo and susceptibility to L. major infectionA number of observations on the anti-inflammatory actions of acupuncture have been published for various acupoints, acupuncture frequencies and additional application of electrostimulation [1]. The insertion of a needle into an acupoint induces the release of pro-inflammatory mediators such as substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, histamine, bradykinin, serotonin, proteases, pro-inflammatory cytokines and others, thereby causing vasodilatation and producing danger signals that are transmitted via the afferent vagus nerve [1-3]. In response to these stimuli, the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing ho
%U http://www.cmjournal.org/content/7/1/17