2. Academic Validation
  3. Electroacupuncture attenuates anxiety caused by chronic mild stress through inhibiting NOX2-derived oxidative stress in ventral hippocampus

Electroacupuncture attenuates anxiety caused by chronic mild stress through inhibiting NOX2-derived oxidative stress in ventral hippocampus

  • Neurobiol Stress. 2025 Oct 28:39:100768. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2025.100768.
Tong Yin 1 2,  Yinxin Wang 1,  Chuan'an Zhu 3,  Yuanfang Lin 4,  Weilin Wang 1,  Jianpeng Huang 2,  Kangwen Ming 1,  Hang Lv 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Sleep Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510640, China.
  • 2 Research Team for Acupuncture Effect and Mechanism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
  • 3 Fujian Provincial Mental Health Center, Fujian Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Xianyue Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen Medical College, Xiamen, Fujian, 361012, China.
  • 4 Department of Tuina, The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518033, China.
PMID: 41280328 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2025.100768
Abstract

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and often triggered or worsened by chronic stress, yet current pharmacological treatments have limitations. Electroacupuncture (EA), a modern adaptation of traditional acupuncture, has shown promise as an alternative therapy for anxiety, though its mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated whether EA can alleviate anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic mild stress (CMS) in mice, focusing on the role of NOX2-mediated oxidative stress and synaptic function in the ventral hippocampus. CMS exposure led to increased anxiety-like behavior, enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission, and elevated oxidative stress specifically in the ventral CA1 (vCA1) region. EA treatment was associated with normalization of excitatory/inhibitory synaptic balance and reduction in oxidative stress markers and NOX2 expression. Furthermore, overexpression of NOX2 in vCA1 induced anxiety-like behaviors, which EA partially ameliorated. These findings suggest that EA's anxiolytic effects may involve NOX2-related oxidative stress pathways and hippocampal excitability modulation, providing mechanistic insights that warrant further investigation for potential therapeutic applications (Graphical Abstract).

Keywords

Chronic mild stress; Electroacupuncture; Oxidative stress; Synaptic transmission; Ventral hippocampus.

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