Gene Expression Profile of the Hypothalamus in DNP-KLH Immunized Mice Following Electroacupuncture Stimulation. (5th June 2011)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Sun Kwang; Kim, Jeungshin; Ko, Eunjung; Kim, Hyunseong; Hwang, Deok-Sang; Lee, Sanghoon; Baek, Yonghyeon; Min, Byung-Il; Nam, Sangsoo; Bae, Hyunsu
• Is Part Of: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine. Volume 2011(2011)
• Publication Date: 2011-06-05
• Subjects: Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nep222
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1741-427X

Abstract

Abstract : Clinical evidence indicates that electroacupuncture (EA) is effective for allergic disorder. Recent animal studies have shown that EA treatment reduces levels of IgE and Th2 cytokines in BALB/c mice immunized with 2, 4-dinitrophenylated keyhole limpet protein (DNP-KLH). The hypothalamus, a brain center of the neural-immune system, is known to be activated by EA stimulation. This study was performed to identify and characterize the differentially expressed genes in the hypothalamus of DNP-KLH immunized mice that were stimulated with EA or only restrained. To this aim, we conducted a microarray analysis to evaluate the global gene expression profiles, using the hypothalamic RNA samples taken from three groups of mice: (i) normal control group (no treatments); (ii) IMH group (DNP-KLH immunization + restraint); and (iii) IMEA group (immunization + EA stimulation). The microarray analysis revealed that total 39 genes were altered in their expression levels by EA treatment. Ten genes, including T-cell receptor alpha variable region family 13 subfamily 1 (Tcra-V13.1), heat shock protein 1B (Hspa1b) and 2 ′ –5 ′ oligoadenylate synthetase 1F (Oas1f), were up-regulated in the IMEA group when compared with the IMH group. In contrast, 29 genes, including decay accelerating factor 2 (Daf2), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, quinone 1 (Nqo1) and programmed cell death 1 ligand 2 (Pdcd1lg2) were down-regulated in the IMEA group as compared with the IMH group. These results suggest that EA treatment can modulate immune response in DNP-KLH immunized mice by regulating expression levels of genes that are associated with innate immune, cellular defense and/or other kinds of immune system in the hypothalamus.