Abstract

Previously, we have showed that the cholecystokinin (CCK)-A receptor expression in hypothalamus is closely related with the responsiveness of electroacupuncture (EA)-mediated analgesic effects in rats. In order to confirm this observation more directly in vivo, the EA-mediated analgesic effects are compared between Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, the natural knockout rats with the homozygously disrupted CCK-A receptor gene, with Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. They were stimulated at the zusanli (ST36) acupoint without using anesthetics or holders. The tail flick latency (TFL) test was performed to quantify analgesic effects and then the mean TFL increase ratios were calculated. OLETF rats showed a mean increase of 53% and LETO rats showed a mean increase of 31% of TFL. Our results suggest that the analgesic effect of acupuncture is closely related with the amount of CCK-A receptor expression. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Author keywords

Acupuncture; CCK; CCK-A receptor; LETO rat; OLETF rat

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: cholecystokinin A receptor

EMTREE medical terms: acupuncture; acupuncture analgesia; analgesic activity; animal experiment; animal model; article; calculation; controlled study; electroacupuncture; gene disruption; homozygote; knockout gene; male; nociceptive stimulation; nonhuman; priority journal; protein deficiency; protein determination; protein expression; quantitative analysis; rat; rat strain; stimulation; tail flick test

MeSH: Acupuncture Analgesia; Animals; Electroacupuncture; Male; Pain; Rats; Rats, Inbred OLETF; Reaction Time; Receptor, Cholecystokinin A
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.

Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: Receptor, Cholecystokinin A