Electroacupuncture alleviates the transition from acute to chronic pain through the p38 MAPK/TNF-α signalling pathway in the spinal dorsal horn

  • Acupunct Med. 2021 Dec;39(6):708-715. doi: 10.1177/09645284211020766.
Ying Jin  1  2 ,  Jie Zhou  3 ,  Fangfang Xu  2 ,  Zeqin Ren  4 ,  Jun Hu  1 ,  Cong Zhang  1 ,  Kaiwen Ge  1 ,  Lanying Liu  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing City, China.
  • 2. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou City, China.
  • 3. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou City, China.
  • 4. Department of Rehabilitation in Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dali University, Dali City, China.
PMID: 34308662 DOI: 10.1177/09645284211020766
Abstract

Background: Hyperalgesic priming (HP) is a model of the transition from acute to chronic pain. Electroacupuncture (EA) could inhibit pain development through the peripheral dorsal root ganglia; however, it is unclear whether it can mitigate the transition from acute to chronic pain by attenuating protein expression in the p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)/tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) pathway in the spinal dorsal horn.

Aims: We aimed to determine whether EA could prevent the transition from acute to chronic pain by affecting the p38 MAPK/TNF-α pathway in the spinal dorsal horn in a rat model established using HP.

Methods: We first randomly subdivided 30 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats into 5 groups (n = 6 per group): control (N), sham HP (Sham-HP), HP, HP + SB203580p38 MAPK (HP+SB203580), and HP + Lenalidomide (CC-5013) (HP+Lenalidomide). We then randomly subdivided a further 30 male SD rats into 5 groups (n = 6 per group): Sham-HP, HP, sham EA (Sham EA), EA (EA), and EA + U-46619 p38 MAPK Agonist (EA+U-46619). We assessed the effects of EA on the mechanical paw withdrawal threshold and p38 MAPK/TNF-α expression in the spinal dorsal horn of rats subjected to chronic inflammatory pain.

Results: Rats in the EA group had reduced p38 MAPK and TNF-α expression and had significantly reduced mechanical hyperalgesia compared with rats in the Other groups.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that EA could increase the mechanical pain threshold in rats and inhibit the transition from acute pain to chronic pain. This mechanism could involve reduced p38 MAPK/TNF-α expression in the spinal dorsal horn.

Keywords
electroacupuncture; hyperalgesic priming; p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase; spinal dorsal horn; tumour necrosis factor alpha.
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