ArticleMolecular medicine reports2021
Electroacupuncture effects on the P2X4R pathway in microglia regulating the excitability of neurons in the substantia gelatinosa region of rats with spinal nerve ligation.
Article in Molecular medicine reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Electroacupuncture and P2X receptors: purinergic mechanisms in pain modulation : A narrative review with structured evidence mapping.Purinergic signalling · 2026Review
- Molecular Mechanisms of Electroacupuncture-Induced Spinal Microglial Reprogramming in Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Search-Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture alleviates capsaicin-induced rectal visceral pain in rats via inhibiting TRPV1 expression by blocking the P2X4R-activated p38 pathway.Purinergic signalling · 2025Article
- The role of purinergic signaling in acupuncture-mediated relief of neuropathic and inflammatory pain.Purinergic signalling · 2025Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Electroacupuncture for Postherpetic Neuralgia and Biomarker Evaluation: A Study Protocol for a Multicenter, Randomized Trial.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Microglia's Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Pain Pathogenesis and Electroacupuncture Analgesia: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Non-invasive brain neuromodulation techniques for chronic low back pain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Electroacupuncture (EA) has been used to treat neuropathic pain induced by peripheral nerve injury (PNI) by applying an electrical current to acupoints with acupuncture needles. However, the mechanisms by which EA treats pain remain indistinct. High P2X4 receptor (P2X4R) expression levels demonstrate a notable increase in hyperactive microglia in the ipsilateral spinal dorsal horn following PNI. In order to demonstrate the possibility that EA analgesia is mediated in part by P2X4R in hyperactive microglia, the present study performed mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) tests in male Sprague‑Dawley rats that had undergone spinal nerve ligation (SNL). The expression levels of spinal P2X4R were determined using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, western blotting analysis and immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) were recorded using whole‑cell patch clamp to demonstrate the effect of EA on synaptic transmission in rat spinal substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons. The results of the present study demonstrated that EA increased the MWT and TWL and decreased overexpression of P2X4R in hyperactive microglia in SNL rats. Moreover, EA attenuated the frequency of sEPSCs in SG neurons in SNL rats. The results of the present study indicate that EA may mediate P2X4R in hyperactive spinal microglia to inhibit nociceptive transmission of SG neurons, thus relieving pain in SNL rats.
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