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. 2017 Oct 25;7(1):14066.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14482-x.

Bi-directional regulation of acupuncture on extrahepatic biliary system: An approach in guinea pigs

Jingjun Zhao  1 , Yutian Yu  1   2   3 , Man Luo  1 , Liang Li  1 , Peijing Rong  4   5
Affiliations

Bi-directional regulation of acupuncture on extrahepatic biliary system: An approach in guinea pigs

Jingjun Zhao et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Clinically, acupuncture affects the motility of the extrahepatic biliary tract, but the underlining mechanisms are still unknown. We applied manual acupuncture (MA) and electrical acupuncture (EA) separately at acupoints Tianshu (ST25), Qimen (LR14), Yanglingquan (GB34), and Yidan (CO11) in forty guinea pigs (4 groups) with or without atropinization under anesthesia while Sphincter of Oddi (SO) myoelectric activities and gallbladder pressure were monitored. In both MA and EA groups, stimulation at ST25 or LR14 significantly increased the frequency and amplitude of SO myoelectrical activities and simultaneously decreased the gallbladder pressure as compared to the pre-MA and pre-EA (P < 0.05). On the contrary, stimulation at GB34 or CO11 significantly decreased SO myoelectricity and increased the gallbladder pressure (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with atropine could abolish the effect of stimulation at acupoints ST25, GB34 and LR14 (P > 0.05), although significant myoelectricity increases were still inducible with MA or EA stimulation at CO11 (P < 0.05). In summary, acupuncture has bi-directional effects to gallbladder pressure and SO function, which probably due to autonomic reflex and somatovisceral interactions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effect on SO EMG frequency and amplitude by manual acupuncture. (A) The frequency of SO EMG increased significantly after stimulation at ST25 and continued for 1 min (P < 0.05) compared to that before MA; compared to the pre-MA level, SO EMG frequency increased significantly after stimulation at LR14 (P < 0.01), but decreased significantly after stimulation at GB34 (P < 0.001) and at CO11 (P < 0.05). (B) Compared to the benchmark level before MA, the amplitude of SO EMG increased significantly after stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.01) and at LR14 (P < 0.01), but decreased significantly after stimulation at GB34 (P < 0.001) and at CO11 (P < 0.01). Duration for MA stimulation was 1 min each time. (C) Sample traces of SO EMG show that the frequency and amplitude increased significantly after MA stimulation at ST25 and at LR14, but decreased significantly after stimulation at GB34 and at CO11.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The changes of gallbladder pressure by manual acupuncture. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before MA, the gallbladder pressure decreased significantly after stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.01) and at LR14 (P < 0.01); and increased significantly after stimulation at GB34 (P < 0.001) and at CO11 (P < 0.01). Duration for MA stimulation was 1 min each time. (B) Sample traces of gallbladder pressure showing the effects of manual acupuncture at ST25, LR14, GB34 and CO11.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effect on SO EMG frequency and amplitude by electroacupuncture. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the frequency of SO EMG increased significantly after stimulation at ST25 and at LR14 (P < 0.05); but decreased significantly after stimulation at GB34 (P < 0.05) and at CO11 (P < 0.01). (B) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the amplitude of SO EMG increased significantly after stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.01) and at LR14 (P < 0.05) and decreased significantly after stimulation at GB34 (P < 0.001) and at CO11 (P < 0.05). (C): Sample traces of SO EMG after stimulation at ST25, LR14, GB34 and CO11.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The change of gallbladder pressure by electroacupuncture. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the gallbladder pressure decreased significantly after stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.01), and at LR14 (P < 0.05); but increased significantly after stimulation at GB34 and at CO11 (P < 0.001). (B) Sample traces of gallbladder pressure changes after stimulation of different acupoints.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect on SO EMG frequency and amplitude of atropinized guinea pigs by manual acupuncture. (A) Compared to the control level before MA, the frequency of SO EMG had no significant change after stimulation at ST25, LR14 and GB34 (P > 0.05); but decreased significantly after stimulation at CO11 (P < 0.05). (B) Compared to the control level before MA, the amplitude of SO EMG had no significant difference after stimulation at ST25, LR14, GB34 and CO11 (P > 0.05). (C) Sample traces of SO EMG show that the frequency and amplitude of SO EMG had no obvious change after stimulation at both four acupoints.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effect of manual acupuncture on gallbladder pressure in atropinized guinea pigs. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before MA, the gallbladder pressure decreased significantly after MA stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.05) and at LR14 (P < 0.05); the gallbladder pressure showed no significant change after stimulation at GB34 (P > 0.05) and at CO11 (P > 0.05). (B) Sample traces of gallbladder pressure changes after stimulation of different acupoints.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The effect on SO EMG frequency and amplitude by electroacupuncture. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the frequency of SO EMG had no significant difference after stimulation at ST25, LR14, GB34 and CO11 (P > 0.05). (B) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the amplitude of SO EMG had no significant difference after stimulation at ST25, LR14 and GB34 (P > 0.05); but decreased significantly after stimulation at CO11 (P < 0.05). (C) Sample traces of SO EMG show that the frequency and amplitude had no obvious change after EA at ST25, LR14 and GB34, but the amplitude had a significant decrease after EA at CO11.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of electroacupuncture on gallbladder pressure in atropinized guinea pigs. (A) Compared to the benchmark level before EA, the gallbladder pressure showed a significant change after EA stimulation at ST25 (P < 0.05) and at LR14 (P < 0.05); but no obvious change was noted after stimulation at GB34 (P > 0.05) and at CO11 (P > 0.05). (B) Sample traces of gallbladder pressure changes after stimulation of different acupoints.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Measurement Procedure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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