Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41873357›Full record

ReviewInternational journal of general medicine2026

Exosome Cargo Molecules and NLRP3/BDNF: Clinical and Preclinical Evidence for Acupuncture-Mediated Spinal Cord Injury Recovery.

Yongliang Wang, Jian Zhang, Jinsheng Liu, Yuefeng Li, Xinyu Zhao, Zhixin Yang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in International journal of general medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Yongliang Wang *Graduate School, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150006, People's Republic of China.
Jian Zhang *Graduate School, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150006, People's Republic of China.
Jinsheng LiuGraduate School, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150006, People's Republic of China.
Yuefeng LiGraduate School, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150006, People's Republic of China.
Xinyu ZhaoGraduate School, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150006, People's Republic of China.
Zhixin YangHebei Key Laboratory of Nerve Injury and Repair, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, Hebei, 067000, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Validate the clinical utility of exosome cargo (miRNAs/proteins) and NLRP3/BDNF as key regulatory molecules for acupuncture-mediated spinal cord injury (SCI) recovery. From the establishment of the database to May 2025, a literature search was conducted on PubMed, and Embase, using keywords ["exosome cargo" or "exosome"], ["acupuncture" or "acupuncture and moxibustion" or "electroacupuncture" or "EA"], ["spinal cord injury" or "SCI"], ["immune regulation"], ["inflammatory reaction"], ["neuroregeneration" or "nerve"]. Including peer-reviewed studies on human/animal models, articles that do not meet the requirements are excluded. Preclinically, MSC-exosomal miR-145-5p suppressed TLR4/NF-κB signaling, reducing spinal IL-1β by 47% in SD rats. Schwann cell-exosomal MFG-E8 activated SOCS3/STAT3, increasing M2 macrophage CD206 by 63% and raising rat BBB scores by 3.8 points; Treg-exosomal miR-2861 upregulated tight junction proteins (occludin/ZO-1) to repair the blood-spinal cord barrier. Acupuncture (EA at GV14/GV4) upregulated spinal BDNF by 72% and NGF by 58% via Wnt/β-catenin, while EA at GV6/GV9 downregulated NLRP3 by 42-58% and TNF-α by 35-47%. Clinically, EA at EX-B2 increased ASIA scores by 3.2±1.1 points (Guo et al). Besides, 5x/week EA improved ASIA vs 3x/week (+6.4 points). EA+exercise reduced MAS by 1.6-2.9 points, with outcomes correlated to peripheral NLRP3 reduction, BDNF elevation, and MBI/WISCIII increases. Exosome cargo (miR-145-5p/MFG-E8) and NLRP3/BDNF are key regulatory molecules underlying acupuncture-mediated SCI recovery. However, limitations (small RCT samples, heterogeneous acupuncture protocols, unstandardized exosome isolation) hinder translation. Future work should focus on standardized biomarker detection, exosome engineering, and large-scale clinical trials.

Indexed as

acupuncturebrain-derived neurotrophic factorexosomeimmune cell polarizationNLRP3 inflammasomespinal cord injuryWnt/β-catenin pathway

Identifiers

PMID41873357
PMCPMC13006021

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.