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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Neurophysiological mechanisms of electroacupuncture in regulating pancreatic function and adipose tissue expansion
Yun Liu, Zhi Yu, Xuan Wang, Ming-Qian Yuan, Meng-Jiang Lu, Mei-Rong Gong, Qian Li, You-Bing Xia, Guan-Hu Yang, Bin Xu, Gerhard Litscher, Tian-Cheng Xu
Yun Liu, Zhi Yu, Ming-Qian Yuan, Meng-Jiang Lu, Mei-Rong Gong, Qian Li, Bin Xu, Tian-Cheng Xu, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
Xuan Wang, College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine, Yancheng 224000, Jiangsu Province, China
You-Bing Xia, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, Jiangsu Province, China
Guan-Hu Yang, Department of Specialty Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, United States
Gerhard Litscher, High-Tech Acupuncture and Digital Chinese Medicine, Swiss University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bad Zurzach 5530, Switzerland
Co-first authors: Yun Liu and Zhi Yu.
Co-corresponding authors: Bin Xu and Tian-Cheng Xu.
Author contributions: Liu Y and Yu Z contributed equally to this study as co-first authors; Xu B and Xu TC contributed equally to this study as co-corresponding authors; Liu Y, Wang X and Yu Z conceived and designed the experiments; Liu Y, Yuan MQ, Li Q and Lu MJ performed the experiments, wrote the manuscript; Yang GH and Litscher G analyzed the data; Liu Y, Gong MR and Xia YB performed the experiments; Xu B and Xu TC provided guidance and funding support.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82305376, No. 82374577, No. 82305375, No. 82074532, and No. 82405567; and The Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Model Animal Research Center at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Institutional Review Board (Approval No. 202105A041).
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Tian-Cheng Xu, PhD, Professor, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Office 627, Fengsheng Health Building, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China.
xtc@njucm.edu.cn
Received: September 12, 2024
Revised: February 12, 2025
Accepted: March 14, 2025
Published online: May 15, 2025
Processing time: 225 Days and 16.3 Hours
BACKGROUND
Electroacupuncture (EA) has been recognized for its beneficial effects on glucolipid metabolism, potentially through the regulation of sensory nerve coordination. The expandability of peripancreatic adipose tissue (PAT) is implicated in the transition from obesity to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the specific pancreatic responses to EA require further elucidation.
AIM
To investigate the influence of EA on pancreatic glucolipid reduction level in a high-fat diet (HFD) rat model.
METHODS
To delineate the precise pathway through which EA mediates interactions between PAT and islets, we assessed the expression levels of NGF, TRPV1, insulin, as well as other proteins in the pancreas and PAT. This approach enabled us to identify the acupoints that are most conducive to optimizing glycolipid metabolism.
RESULTS
The ST25, LI11 and ST37 groups attenuated HFD-induced obesity and insulin resistance (IR) to distinct degrees, with ST25 group having the greatest effect. EA at ST25 was found to modify the local regulatory influence of PAT on the pancreatic intrinsic nervous system. Specifically, EA at ST25 obviously activated the TRPV1-CGRP-islet beta cell pathway, contributing to the relief of glucolipid metabolic stress. The beneficial effects were abrogated following the chemical silencing of TRPV1 sensory afferents, confirming their indispensable role in EA-mediated regulation of islet and PAT function. Furthermore, in TRPV1 knockout mice, a reduction in PAT inflammation was observed, along with the recovery of islet beta cell function. EA at LI11 and ST37 demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties and helped ameliorate IR.
CONCLUSION
The PAT ecological niche influenced the progression from obesity to T2DM through various immunometabolic pathways. EA at ST25 could regulate glucolipid metabolism via the TRPV1-CGRP-islet beta cell pathway.
Core Tip: This study underscored the pivotal role of peripancreatic adipose tissue expansion in the transition from obesity to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), influenced by the crosstalk between islet beta cells and the pancreas islet nerve system. Our findings revealed that electroacupuncture (EA), particularly when applied at ST25, effectively regulates glucolipid metabolism and pancreatic function via the TRPV1-CGRP signaling axis, thereby mitigating metabolic stress and inflammation. This provides a foundation for the development of precision therapeutic strategies for T2DM management. Ongoing exploration of the detailed mechanisms and therapeutic targets of EA at various acupoints, including LI11 and ST37, is essential for refining clinical methodologies aimed at T2DM treatment.
