Effect of Herb-Partitioned Moxibustion on Autophagy and Immune-Associated Gene Expression Profiles in a Rat Model of Crohn's Disease

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immune regulation mechanism of herb-partitioned moxibustion in rats with Crohn's disease (CD) focusing on autophagy. METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into normal (N) group, CD model (M) group, CD model with herb-partitioned moxibustion (MM) group, normal with herb-partitioned moxibustion (NM) group, CD model with mesalazine (western medicine, Med ) group, and normal saline (NS) group, with 10 rats in each group. The CD model rats were prepared by trinitrobenzene sulphonic expect for the N group and NM group. After the CD rats model were established, the rats in the MM and NM groups were treated with herb-partitioned moxibustion at Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (CV6) acupoints once daily for 7 days, and rats in the Med and NS groups were respectively treated with mesalazine enteric coated tablet and normal saline once daily for 7 days. After intervention, hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the histological changes of colon; RNA sequencing was used to observe the changes in autophagy- and immune-associated gene expression profiles. In addition, autophagy- and immune-associated cytokines and signaling pathways in CD rats were also screened. RESULTS: HPM significantly increased the body weight of CD rats (P<0.01) and improved the pathological injury of colon in CD rats (P<0.01). HPM also changed the expression of many autophagy- and immune-associated genes, especially downregulating the expression of autophagy-associated Nod2, Irgm genes as well as the receptor of immune-associated Il12b, Il22 (Il12rb1, Il22ra2) genes in the colon of CD rats. HPM also changed the enrichment levels of differentially expressed genes in the human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 infection pathway, the Epstein-Barr virus infection pathway, and the cell adhesion molecule pathway. In addition, the expression levels of Nod2, Irgm, IL-12b, and IL-22 mRNA were increased (all P< 0.01) in the M group compared to the N group, while the expression levels of Nod2, Irgm, IL-12b, and IL-22 mRNA were decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01) in the MM and Med groups compared to the M group. CONCLUSION: Herb-partitioned moxibustion may effectively attenuate intestinal inflammation and promote the repair of colon mucosal injury of CD rats through the regulation of autophagy- and immune-associated gene expression and signaling pathways.