Abstract
The study is to observe the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation at “Zusanli” (ST36) on the release of nitric oxide (NO) and blood perfusion (BP) in the liver and further explore whether the hepatic blood perfusion (HBP) changes were regulated by EA ST36 induced NO in nitric oxide synthase inhibited mice. The HBP change of the mice was detected by laser speckle perfusion imaging (LSPI) before and after being given interventions, and the NO in liver tissue was detected by nitric acid reductase in each group. The NO levels and HBP in the L-NAME group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.01). The NO level and HBP increase in EA group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The NO level in the L-NAME EA group was slightly higher than that in the L-NAME group. The HBP increase in the L-NAME EA group was not statistically significant. These results showed that EA could accelerate the synthesis of NO and thereby increase HBP via vasodilation in liver tissue.
Highlights
The liver is an organ that is very rich in blood in the circulation of the body and has unique circulation physiological characteristics [1]
The nitric oxide (NO) content in the L-NAME EA group (8.65 ± 0.56 μmol/gprot) was slightly higher than that in the L-NAME group, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (Figure 2)
We considered that EA ST36 had activated the various sensory receptors in the acupoint area; the acupuncture signal was transmitted into the liver to activate the vascular endothelium of the liver tissue
Summary
The liver is an organ that is very rich in blood in the circulation of the body and has unique circulation physiological characteristics [1]. The mechanisms of the liver tissue damage are mainly related to the factors such as microcirculation dysfunction, overproduction of oxygen radicals, exhaustion of energy substance, calcium overload, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Among these factors, the microcirculation dysfunction plays an important role and largely decides the damage degree of the liver tissue [3]. Many factors and bioactive substances participate in regulating the physiological and pathological processes of the microcirculation system of the body [4, 5]. NO synthesized by vascular endothelial cells wields a significant influence in regulating vasomotion and maintaining blood coagulationthrombolysis balance. In the smooth muscle cells, NO binds to the Fe2+ which is the hemoglobin component of the guanylate cyclase followed by elevating the cGMP levels, activating the protein kinase, phosphodiesteric acid, and ion channels, resulting in the vessel smooth muscle relaxation and vasodilatation, and increasing blood perfusion (BP) [12,13,14,15]
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