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Updated: Jun 8, 2026
Acupuncture in a Rat Model of Asthma
Published on: August 25, 2020
[Effect of acupuncture on SP-A expression in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of asthmatic rats]
Xing-ke Yan1, Yan Zhang, Pei-yu Lin
1Acupuncture and Massage College, Changchun University of TCM, Changchun 130117, China. yanxk@126.com
Objective:
To explore the mechanism of acupuncture for treatment of asthma.
Methods:
Forty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: blank control group, normal saline control group (NS control group), asthma model group, asthma model with acupuncture group (asthma acupuncture group) and asthma model with binding group (asthma binding group). The asthma acupuncture group was treated with acupuncture at "Dazhui" (GV 14), "Feishu" (BL 13) and "Fengmen" (BL 12); the asthma binding group was only binding without acupuncture and no intervention was given in the other groups. Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) expression was examined by Western-Blot.
Results:
Airway resistance in asthma model group was significantly higher than that in blank control group and NS control group from 3 to 6 min after asthma provocation (all P<0.01). Western-Blot detection showed that SP-A expression in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of the rats in asthma model group was significantly lower than that in blank control group and NS control group (both P<0.05), and which in asthma acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in asthma model group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
The mechanism of prevention and treatment of acupuncture for allergic asthma is related to regulating SP-A expression of airway in asthmatic rats.
