ReviewChinese medicine2021
The role of macrophage polarization and associated mechanisms in regulating the anti-inflammatory action of acupuncture: a literature review and perspectives.
Review in Chinese medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Combined with Hydroxychloroquine in Treating Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture Enhances Effectiveness of Omeprazole in Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Injury Mice via Nrf2 Activation and Vagus Nerve Conduction.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Article
- Metabolic and neuropathic outcomes following combined sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor therapy and adjunctive acupuncture in obese patients with diabetic neuropathy: a case series.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Ptgs2+ CPTC Function as a "Force-Immune Axis" by Responding to Acupuncture and Mediating M2 Macrophage Activation for Anti-Inflammatory Effects.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Skin-Brain Axis: neural pathways in acupuncture treatment.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Thrombin induces degradation of murine intervertebral discs via angiogenesis and M1-like polarization of macrophages.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Research Progress of Acupuncture in Disease Management through Autonomic Nerve System Modulation.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2025Review
- Enhanced Bioactivity of FermentedCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2025Article
- Effect of acupuncture on serum levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis related hormones and immune factors in rats with allergic rhinitis.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2025Article
- Therapeutic Effect of Brain Awakening and Mind Opening Acupuncture Combined with Simiao Pill on Mice with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Acupuncture's Immunomodulatory Effects on Macrophages in Allergic Disorders: A Systematic Review.Journal of asthma and allergy · 2025Review
- Understanding lactate in the development of Hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.Infectious agents and cancer · 2024Review
- Review
- Therapeutically Fine-Tuning Autonomic Nervous System to Treat Sepsis: A New Perspective on the Immunomodulatory Effects of Acupuncture.Journal of inflammation research · 2024Review
- Cholinergic Polarization of Human Macrophages.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Tegoprazan in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Bone-Marrow-Derived Macrophages.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Auriculotherapy Modulates Macrophage Polarization to Reduce Inflammatory Response in a Rat Model of Acne.Mediators of inflammation · 2023Article
- Acupuncture as multi-targeted therapy for the multifactorial disease obesity: a complex neuro-endocrine-immune interplay.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Research Hotspots and Trends on Acupuncture for Anti-Inflammation: A Bibliometric Analysis from 2011 to 2021.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Acupuncture is used in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory conditions and diseases. However, the mechanisms of its anti-inflammatory action are complex and have not been systematically investigated. Macrophages are key components of the innate immune system, thus, balancing the M1/M2 macrophage ratio and modulating cytokine levels in the inflammatory environment may be desirable therapeutic goals. Evidence has shown that acupuncture has anti-inflammatory actions that affect multiple body systems, including the immune, locomotory, endocrine, nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems, by downregulating pro-inflammatory M1 and upregulating anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, as well as by modulating associated cytokine secretion. Macrophage polarization is controlled by the interlocking pathways of extrinsic factors, the local tissue microenvironment, and the neural-endocrine-immune systems. It has been suggested that polarization of T lymphocytes and cytokine secretions resulting in modulation of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, may be upstream mechanisms of acupuncture-induced macrophage polarization. We further propose that macrophage polarization could be the principal pathway involved in acupuncture immune regulation and provide the scientific basis for the clinical application of acupuncture in inflammatory conditions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.