Electroacupuncture Alleviates Osteoarthritis by Suppressing NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Guinea Pigs.

Electroacupuncture Alleviates Osteoarthritis by Suppressing NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Guinea Pigs. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020;2020:5476064 Authors: Wang Z, Chen M, Wang B, Kang W, Yu H, Li X, Dong B, Yuan P Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is an increasingly prevalent disease affecting synovial joints, which includes joint degeneration, inflammation, and joint pain. The activation of nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor containing protein 3 (NLRP3) could promote synovial inflammation. Previous studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) has potential anti-inflammatory effect. However, the effect of EA treatment on OA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of applied EA on OA and joint pain and its relationship with NLRP3 inflammasome. The Hartley guinea pigs with naturally occurring OA at age 18 months were chosen as the OA model and treated with EA for 4 weeks. Mechanical allodynia was quantified by using von Frey filaments. The expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and the downstream proinflammatory factors in the cartilage tissue were quantified. Our results showed that EA treatment significantly reduces mechanical allodynia, improves the articular cartilage structure, and decreases the fibrillation on the cartilage surface in guinea pigs with spontaneous osteoarthritis. Moreover, we also found that EA treatment attenuates the NLRP3 inflammasome activation and su...
Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Tags: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Source Type: research