Electroacupuncture Decreases the Leukocyte Infiltration to White Adipose Tissue and Attenuates Inflammatory Response in High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Rats

Suppression of white adipose tissue inflammatory signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity-induced inflammatory response. However, the precise mechanism of efficacy of acupuncture related to adipose tissue remains poorly understood. In the present study we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of 10 Hz electroacupuncture (EA) which was applied at the acupoint Zusanli (ST36) for 20 min per day in high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced obesity model. Treatment lasted for one week. Obese rats treated with EA showed significantly reduced body weight compared with the rats in HFD group. EA decreased the number of F4/80 and CD11b-positive macrophages in epididymal adipose tissue. We found that 10 Hz EA given 7 days/week at ST36 acupoints significantly alleviated macrophage recruitment and then improved the obesity-associated factors of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and target genes expression in rats with HFD. Adipose tissue inflammatory responses indicated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-6, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and CD68 mRNA expression were significantly reduced by EA in obese rats. Additionally, EA was found to significantly reduced serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1 in this model. These results indicated that EA improved adipose tissue inflammatory response in obese rats, at least partly, via attenuation of lipogenesis signaling.