THE IMPACT OF ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE ON “BAIHUAN SHU” (BL 30) AND “HUIYANG” (BL 35) POINTS ON THE TLR4/NF-κB PATHWAY IN RATS WITH CHRONIC PROSTATITIS

Abstract

The objective of this research is to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying electro-acupuncture intervention in chronic prostatitis (CP). Rats were randomly divided into five groups: a control group, a model group (suffering from CP), an electro-acupuncture group, an inhibitor group, and an activator group. One day post-modeling, electro-acupuncture intervention was conducted on the electro-acupuncture group, inhibitor group, and activator group at the acupoints “Baihuan Shu” (BL 30) and “Huiyang” (BL 35). Relevant indicators were used to evaluate the efficacy. Compared with models, the electro-acupuncture group showed significantly increased horizontal and vertical movement scores and sugar water intake, and significantly decreased prostate wet weight and prostate index. Compared with the electro-acupuncture group, the inhibitor group showed significantly increased horizontal and vertical movement scores and sugar water consumption. In contrast, for the activator group, these scores and consumption levels significantly decreased, while their prostate wet weight and prostate index increased significantly. Compared with models, the expression of TLR4 and p-NF-[Formula: see text]B/NF-[Formula: see text]B proteins in the prostate tissue of electro-acupuncture group was significantly lower. In terms of the inhibitor group, they also showed a decrease in TLR4 and p-NF-[Formula: see text]B/NF-[Formula: see text]B protein expression, whilst the activator group showed an increase. Therefore, electro-acupuncture at “Baihuan Shu” (BL 30) and “Huiyang” (BL 35) can significantly enhance movement scores, vertical movement scores, and sugar water consumption in rats with CP. Moreover, it can decrease the wet weight and index of the prostate, possibly by regulating the TLR4/NF-[Formula: see text]B pathway.