mouse spinal cord Transcriptome

Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) is a traditional Chinese medicine techniquecommonly used for managing various disorders, including chronic inflammatory painand allergic asthma. Despite its growing use, the neuroimmunological mechanismsunderlying ACE treatment effects remain unclear. This study investigated theroles and potential mechanisms of the effects of ACE in treating experimentalautoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a frequently used animal model of autoimmuneneuroinflammation. The effects of ACE treatment were evaluated by monitoringbody weight and EAE severity scores. Behavioral tests, histopathological analysis,ELISA, and flow cytometry were conducted to assess the therapeutic efficacy ofACE. RNA sequencing was performed to uncover ACE-associated transcriptionalsignatures in the spinal cords of EAE mice. The results were validated throughwestern blotting, qRT-PCR, and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. In ACE-treatedmice, EAE disease severity was significantly ameliorated, along with improvementsin anxiety-like behaviors and reduced inflammation and demyelination. The ACEtreatment restored immune imbalance in the EAE mice by decreasing Th17 and Th1cells, while increasing Treg cells in peripheral immune organs and reducing seruminflammatory cytokine levels. RNA sequencing revealed significant suppressionof the genes and pathways associated with reactive microglial and astrocyticactivation, corroborated by IF studies. Additionally, ACE treatment could suppressthe ERK and JNK signaling pathways at both RNA and protein levels. These findingsconfirm the protective role of ACE in mitigating EAE symptoms by modulatingmicroglial and astrocytic activity and regulating inflammatory cytokines.