Does acupuncture treatment modulate inflammatory cytokines in rodent models of depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ziyi Guo; Zhuoyu Ren; Jianping Yao; Yamin Li; Zhiying Che; Zhiyang Yu; Peigang Fang; Xiao Lu; Min Chen

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1329638

Does acupuncture treatment modulate inflammatory cytokines in rodent models of depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Behav Neurosci. 2024 Jan 15:18:1329638. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1329638. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Ziyi Guo^#^{1

2}, Zhuoyu Ren^#³, Jianping Yao⁴, Yamin Li⁴, Zhiying Che⁴, Zhiyang Yu⁴, Peigang Fang^{1

2}, Xiao Lu⁵, Min Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Quality Research In Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology Taipa, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
⁴ Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China.
⁵ Zhuhai Campus, Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Despite the increasing global prevalence of depression, existing treatment methods have limitations. Acupuncture has been recognized for its potential to alleviate various diseases by regulating inflammatory cytokines. However, a comprehensive systematic analysis of the effects of acupuncture on depression through inflammatory cytokines is currently lacking. This review aims to evaluate the impact of acupuncture on inflammatory cytokines in animal models of depression.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Research Information Service System to identify studies that met predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of each included study was assessed using a 10-item checklist adapted from the Cochrane Collaboration methods and animal data review. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 17.0 software for literature that met the inclusion criteria.

Results: The meta-analysis included a total of 21 studies involving 376 rodents. The overall quality of the included reports was rated as moderate or higher. The results demonstrated that acupuncture had a significant effect on the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including: IL-1β [SMD = 3.36, 95% CI (2.73, 4.00), I² = 73.3%, p < 0.05], IL-6 [SMD = 3.05, 95% CI (2.45, 3.64), I² = 68%, p < 0.05], and TNF-α [SMD = 3.30, 95% CI (2.53, 4.06), I² = 74.5%, p < 0.05]. Conversely, acupuncture was associated with an increased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, notably: IL-4 [SMD = -1.64, 95% CI (-2.46, -0.82), I² = 4.1%, p = 0.307] and IL-10 [SMD = -1.45, 95% CI (-2.24, -0.66), I² = 0, p = 0.678]. These results suggest that acupuncture modulates cytokine levels in depressed rodents, including reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, thereby regulating the immune-related antidepressant pathway.

Conclusion: While this study is limited by the number of included studies, the results suggest that acupuncture may be a viable option for the treatment of depression, and this effect is achieved through the regulation of various inflammatory cytokines.

Systematic review registration: This research endeavor was duly registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023420919, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=420919).

Keywords: acupuncture; depression; electroacupuncture; inflammation cytokines; rodent animal model.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research received funding and support from the following sources: The Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR (file no. 0114/2022/A); The Project of Guizhou Provincial Natural Science Foundation, QKH-J [2020]1Y378; Special Scientific Research Project for the Construction of “Double First-Class” in Traditional Chinese Medicine in Henan Province (HSRP-DFCTCM-2023-1-18, Research on the Compatibility of Prescriptions Based on Changes in Key Pharmacodynamic Ingredient Content); Key Discipline Construction Project of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2023 (15102040–2023-7, Traditional Chinese Medical Diagnostics); Key Discipline Construction Project of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2023 (15102040–2023-3, Application of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Data).