Combining acupuncture and mesenchymal stem cell therapy offers promise as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Table 2 Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of acupuncture

Ref.	Model	Intervention	Acupoints	Acupoint stimulation parameters	Mechanism indicators	Pathway
Zhang et al[86]	IBD mice	EA	Bilateral: BL25	EA: 2 Hz, 1 mA, 30 minutes, 7 days	IL-1β↓; iNOS↓; CD68↓	-
Song et al[90]	UC mice	EA	ST36	EA1: 100 Hz, 1 mA, 30 minutes, 7 days; EA2: 10 Hz, 1 mA, 30 minutes, 7 days	IL-1β↓; IL-6↓; IL-12↓; TNF-α↓; IL-17↓; IL-10↑	-
Zhou et al[95]	PTSD mice	EA	Pretreatment	EA: 2/15 Hz, 1 mA, 30 minutes, 7 days	BDNF↓; AMPK↓; HO-1↓	AMPK/Nrf2; Keap1/Nrf2
Yu et al[96]	ALI rabbits	EA	Bilateral: ST36; BL13	EA1: 2/15 Hz, ≤ 1 mA, 15 minutes, 5 days; EA2: 2/15 Hz, ≤ 1 mA, 6 hours, 1 days	MDA↓; SOD↑; GPX↑; TNF-α↓; IL-6↓; HO-1↑	Nrf2/ARE
Dai et al[153]	SCI mice	EA	Bilateral: ST36; SP6	EA: 60 Hz for 1.05 seconds and 2 Hz for 2.85 seconds, alternately; ≤ 5 μA	ApoE↑; TNF-α↓; IL-6↓; IL-1β↓; IL-10↑; TGF-β↑	Nrf2-HO-1; Nrf2/NQO1/HO-1
Li et al[154]	CIRI rats	EA	GV20, SP6, bilateral: ST36	EA: 2/15 Hz, 5 mA or 10 mA, 30 minutes, 5 days	TNF-α↓; HO-1↑; iNOS↓	Nrf2/HO-1
Wang et al[155]	VD mice	Acupuncture	GV20, bilateral: ST36	10 minutes needle retention	TNF-α↓; TLR4↓; IL-6↓	MyD88/NF-κB
Lou et al[156]	I/R rats	EA	Pretreatment: ST36; SP6	EA: 2/15 Hz, 1 mA	TNF-α↓; IL-1↓; IL-6↓; MPO↓; TLR4↓; p-NF-κB↓	TLR4/NF-κB
Wu et al[157]	UC rats	EA and HPM	EA: Bilateral ST25. HPM: (Qihai)RN6; bilateral (Tianshu)ST25	EA: 2 Hz, 4 mA, 20 minutes, 14 days; HPM: Moxa cones (refined mugwort floss)	IL-1β↓; IL-6↓	-
Liu et al[158]	UC mice	EA	Bilateral: ST36	EA: 2 Hz, 1 mA, 15 minutes, 7 days	IFN-γ↓; IL-6↓; TNF-α↓	TLR4/MyD88

IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease; EA: Electroacupuncture; IL: Interleukin; iNOS: Inducible nitric oxide synthase; UC: Ulcerative colitis; TNF: Tumor necrosis factor; PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; HO-1: Heme oxygenase-1; Nrf2: Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; Keap1: Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1; ALI: Acute lung injury; MDA: Malondialdehyde; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; GPX: Glutathione peroxidase; ARE: Antioxidant response element; SCI: Spinal cord injury; ApoE: Apolipoprotein E; TGF: Transforming growth factor; CIRI: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury; VD: Vitamin D; TLR4: Toll-like receptor 4; NF-κB: Nuclear factor-kappa B; I/R: Ischemia/reperfusion; MPO: Myeloperoxidase; HPM: Herbs-partition moxibustion; IFN: Interferon; MyD88: Myeloid differentiation factor-88.