ArticleChinese journal of integrative medicine2023
Electroacupuncture Alleviates Functional Constipation in Mice by Activating Enteric Glial Cell Autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling.
Article in Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nonpharmacologic treatment for elderly with constipation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of acupuncture in post-stroke constipation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Electroacupuncture combined with biofeedback for obstructed defecation syndrome: a retrospective cohort study.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Article
- Jichuan decoction alleviates constipation by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway: an integrated network pharmacology and experimental study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Deficiency of METTL3 alleviates excessive autophagy and apoptosis in mice with slow transit constipation and glutamic acid-induced interstitial cells of Cajal via the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Article
- Rotenone Induces Parkinsonism with Constipation Symptoms in Mice by Disrupting the Gut Microecosystem, Inhibiting the PI3K-AKT Signaling Pathway and Gastrointestinal Motility.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The Mechanism of Acupuncture Regulating Autophagy: Progress and Prospect.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Muscarinic Receptor-Mediated Electroacupuncture Modulation of Reactive Enteric Glial Cells Ameliorates Postoperative Ileus.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture alleviates functional constipation by upregulating host-derived miR-205-5p to modulate gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolism.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Morphological and biochemical characteristics associated with autophagy in gastrointestinal diseases.World journal of gastroenterology · 2024Review
- Electroacupuncture Promotes Functional Recovery after Facial Nerve Injury in Rats by Regulating Autophagy via GDNF and PI3K/mTOR Signaling Pathway.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Article
- Zhi Zhu Ma Ren pill relieves constipation in mice through endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis.American journal of translational research · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate autophagy-related mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) action in improving gastrointestinal motility in mice with functional constipation (FC).
methodsAccording to a random number table, the Kunming mice were divided into the normal control, FC and EA groups in Experiment I. The autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) was used to observe whether it antagonized the effects of EA in Experiment II. An FC model was established by diphenoxylate gavage. Then the mice were treated with EA stimulation at Tianshu (ST 25) and Shangjuxu (ST 37) acupoints. The first black stool defecation time, the number, weight, and water content of 8-h feces, and intestinal transit rate were used to assess intestinal transit. Colonic tissues underwent histopathological assessment, and the expressions of autophagy markers microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin-1 were detected by immunohistochemical staining. The expressions of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT)-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway members were investigated by Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The relationship between enteric glial cells (EGCs) and autophagy was observed by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, localization analysis, and electron microscopy.
resultsEA treatment shortened the first black stool defecation time, increased the number, weight, and water content of 8-h feces, and improved the intestinal transit rate in FC mice (P<0.01). In terms of a putative autophagy mechanism, EA treatment promoted the expressions of LC3 and Beclin-1 proteins in the colonic tissue of FC mice (P<0.05), with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and LC3 significantly colocalized. Furthermore, EA promoted colonic autophagy in FC mice by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The positive effect of EA on intestinal motility in FC mice was blocked by 3-MA.
conclusionEA treatment can inhibit PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in the colonic tissues of FC mice, thereby promoting EGCs autophagy to improve intestinal motility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.