Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion inhibits colonic autophagy in Crohn’s disease via signaling involving distinct classes of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases

Figure 1 Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion at the Qihai (CV6) and bilateral Tianshu (ST25) acupoints ameliorates colon damage and inflammation in Crohn’s disease rats. A: Megacolon and cobblestone-like changes; B: Histopathological observations of colon tissue by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Scale bar: 100 μm; C: Expression of the colonic inflammatory factors interleukin-18 (IL-18), nuclear factor κB/p65 (NF-κB p65), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) proteins evaluated by Western blot. Six independent experiments were analyzed, and the data are presented as the mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.01, ^bP < 0.05 vs NC group; ^cP < 0.01, ^dP < 0.05 vs CD group. NC: Normal control; CD: Crohn’s disease; HM: Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion; IL-18: Interleukin 18; NF-κB p65: Nuclear factor κB p65; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-α.