Effects of moxibustion at "Feishu" (BL13) and "Xinshu" (BL15) on myocardial circPAN3, FOXO3, BNIP3 levels and myocardial fibrosis in rats with chronic heart failure.
10.13703/j.0255-2930.20241028-k0002
- Author:
Lan LI
1
;
Bing GAO
2
;
Jing HU
2
;
Pan LIU
2
;
Liya LI
1
;
Ruihua LI
2
;
Jing WANG
3
Author Information
1. School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Anhui University of CM, Hefei 230012, China; Institute of Xin'an Medicine and Modernization of TCM, Anhui University of CM, Hefei
2. Institute of Xin'an Medicine and Modernization of TCM, Anhui University of CM, Hefei 230000; School of TCM, Anhui University of CM, Hefei
3. Institute of Xin'an Medicine and Modernization of TCM, Anhui University of CM, Hefei 230000; School of TCM, Anhui University of CM, Hefei 230012; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Anhui University of CM, Hefei
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Point BL13 (Feishu);
Point BL15 (Xinshu);
chronic heart failure;
circular RNA of exon 2-5 of the Pan3 gene (circPAN3);
moxibustion;
myocardial autophagy;
myocardial fibrosis
- MeSH:
Animals;
Moxibustion;
Heart Failure/metabolism*;
Male;
Rats;
Rats, Sprague-Dawley;
Myocardium/pathology*;
RNA, Circular/metabolism*;
Membrane Proteins/metabolism*;
Forkhead Box Protein O3/metabolism*;
Acupuncture Points;
Humans;
Fibrosis/genetics*;
Chronic Disease/therapy*;
Mitochondrial Proteins
- From:
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion
2025;45(11):1600-1608
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of moxibustion at "Feishu" (BL13) and "Xinshu" (BL15) on the circular RNA of exon 2-5 of the Pan3 gene (circPAN3), forkhead box O3 (FOXO3), and Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B19kDa-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) in rats with chronic heart failure (CHF), and explore the potential mechanisms of moxibustion in alleviating myocardial fibrosis.
METHODS:Ten rats of 60 male SPF-grade SD rats were randomly assigned into a normal group. The remaining rats underwent left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation to establish the CHF model. Forty successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into a model group, a moxibustion group, a rapamycin (RAPA) group, and a moxibustion+RAPA group, with 10 rats in each group. The moxibustion group received mild moxibustion at bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Xinshu" (BL15), 30 min per session. The RAPA group received intraperitoneal injection of the autophagy activator RAPA (1 mg/kg). The moxibustion+RAPA group first received RAPA injection, followed by mild moxibustion at bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Xinshu" (BL15). All interventions were administered once daily for 4 consecutive weeks. After the intervention, cardiac ultrasound was used to measure ejection fraction (EF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (FS). Serum placental growth factor (PLGF) level was determined by ELISA. Myocardial tissue morphology and collagen volume were assessed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson's trichrome staining. The expression levels of circPAN3, FOXO3, and BNIP3 mRNA in myocardial tissue were detected by real-time PCR, while FOXO3 and BNIP3 protein expression levels were analyzed by Western blot.
RESULTS:Compared with the normal group, the model group exhibited myocardial cell disorder, severe fibrosis, and increased collagen volume (P<0.01), along with significantly decreased EF, FS, and circPAN3 mRNA expression in myocardial tissue (P<0.01), and the serum PLGF level, as well as FOXO3 and BNIP3 mRNA and protein expression in myocardial tissue were increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the moxibustion group showed reduced myocardial fibrosis, decreased collagen volume (P<0.01), increased EF, FS, and circPAN3 mRNA expression in myocardial tissue (P<0.01), and decreased serum PLGF level as well as FOXO3 and BNIP3 mRNA and protein expression in myocardial tissue (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the RAPA group showed further deterioration in these parameters (P<0.01). Compared with the RAPA group, the moxibustion+RAPA group exhibited alleviation of myocardial fibrosis, reduced collagen volume (P<0.01), increased EF, FS, and circPAN3 mRNA expression in myocardial tissue (P<0.01), and decreased serum PLGF level as well as FOXO3 and BNIP3 mRNA and protein expression in myocardial tissue (P<0.01).
CONCLUSION:Moxibustion could alleviate myocardial fibrosis in CHF rats, possibly through upregulation of myocardial circPAN3 expression, downregulation of FOXO3 and BNIP3 expression, and inhibition of excessive myocardial autophagy.
