Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
Volume 4, Issue 3 , Pages 170-177, May 2008

Role of Mast Cells in Acupuncture Effect: A Pilot Study

  • Di Zhang, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Guanghong Ding, MS

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding Author. Address: 199 Guo Shou Jing Road, Shanghai, 201203, China
    • ,
  • Xueyong Shen, MD

      Affiliations

    • College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineTCM University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Wei Yao, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Zhiying Zhang, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Anatomy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Yuqing Zhang, MS

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Jun Lin, MS

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridians, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
    • ,
  • Quanbao Gu

      Affiliations

    • Shanghai Institute of Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

To better understand the therapeutic effectiveness of acupuncture, questions about the underlying mechanisms need to be addressed. Here we describe the impact of manual stimulation by an acupuncture needle of zusanli (stomach 36 [ST36]) on analgesia in rats. The analgesic effect was more pronounced after stimulation of ST36 than after stimulation of a sham point near the acupuncture point. At the same time, we determined in tissue slices the density of mast cells in the acupuncture points and nearby points, as well as the degree of degranulation before and after stimulation. We found that the density of mast cells from the ST36 of rats was higher than that from a nearby sham point. In addition, acupuncture resulted in a remarkable increase in degranulation of the mast cells. Pretreatment of the acupuncture point with disodium chromoglycate not only counteracted the phenomenon of degranulation but also reduced analgesic effect of acupuncture. Our experiments on inhibition of degranulation of mast cells in tissue from acupuncture points demonstrates the possible role of mast cells in acupuncture effects.

Key words: Acupoint, mast cells, DSCG, analgesia, degranulation ratio

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 This work was supported by grants from National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No: 2005CB523306, GD), Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology (No: 05DZ19745, 06DZ19732, 064319053, 07DZ19722, 07DZ19733, GD) and Fudan University Doctorate Innovation Foundation (DZ).

PII: S1550-8307(08)00067-0

doi:10.1016/j.explore.2008.02.002

Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
Volume 4, Issue 3 , Pages 170-177, May 2008

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