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Effect of Maternal Electroacupuncture on Perinatal Nicotine Exposure-Induced Lung Phenotype in Offspring

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Abstract

Introduction

Pregnant women exposed to tobacco smoke predispose the offspring to many adverse consequences including an altered lung development and function. There is no effective therapeutic intervention to block the effects of smoke exposure on the developing lung. Clinical and animal studies demonstrate that acupuncture can modulate a variety of pathophysiological processes, including those involving the respiratory system; however, whether acupuncture affects the lung damage caused by perinatal smoke exposure is not known.

Methods

To determine the effect of acupuncture on perinatal nicotine exposure on the developing lung, pregnant rat dams were administered (1) saline, (2) nicotine, or (3) nicotine + electroacupuncture (EA). Nicotine was administered (1 mg/kg subcutaneously) once a day and EA was applied to both “Zusanli” (ST 36) points. Both interventions were administered from gestational day 6 to postnatal day 21 (PND21), following which pups were sacrificed. Lungs, blood, and brain were collected to examine markers of lung injury, repair, and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis.

Results

Concomitant EA application blocked nicotine-induced changes in lung morphology, lung peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and wingless-int signaling, two key lung developmental signaling pathways, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (hypothalamic corticotropic releasing hormone and lung glucocorticoid receptor levels), and plasma β-endorphin levels.

Conclusions

Electroacupuncture blocks the nicotine-induced changes in lung developmental signaling pathways and the resultant myogenic lung phenotype, known to be present in the affected offspring. We conclude that EA is a promising novel intervention against the smoke exposed lung damage to the developing lung.

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Acknowledgment

This research was partially funded by the innovative and entrepreneurial project of college students at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (No. 201410026005) and grants from the NIH (HD51857, HL127237, HL107118, and HD071731) and TRDRP (17RT-0170, and 23RT-0018).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China

    Bo Ji, Yu Cao, Zi-Jian Zhang, Dan Wang & Ming-Na Yan

  2. Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China

    Guo-Zhen Zhao

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1124 West Carson Street, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA

    Reiko Sakurai & Virender K. Rehan

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  1. Bo Ji
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  2. Guo-Zhen Zhao
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  3. Reiko Sakurai
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  4. Yu Cao
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  8. Virender K. Rehan
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Correspondence to Virender K. Rehan.

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Ji, B., Zhao, GZ., Sakurai, R. et al. Effect of Maternal Electroacupuncture on Perinatal Nicotine Exposure-Induced Lung Phenotype in Offspring. Lung 194, 535–546 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-016-9899-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-016-9899-7

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