Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Rats by Regulating ErbB Subtypes in the Spinal Dorsal Horn

WU Yuxin; TIAN Shuxin; LYU Zhengyi; JI Dingru; LI Xingzhen; DONG Yue; ZHAO Binyu; LIANG Yi; FANG Jianqiao

doi:10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.01.011

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Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Rats by Regulating ErbB Subtypes in the Spinal Dorsal Horn

更新时间：2026-01-15

- Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Rats by Regulating ErbB Subtypes in the Spinal Dorsal Horn
- Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Vol. 67, Issue 1, Pages: 69-78(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  浙江中医药大学第三临床医学院，浙江省杭州市滨江区滨文路548号，310053
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.01.011
  CLC：
- Received：13 July 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-09-08，
  
  Published：02 January 2026
- 稿件说明：
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吴雨欣,田书心,吕政仪等.电针通过调控脊髓背角ErbB亚型干预大鼠炎性痛的机制研究[J].中医杂志,2026,67(01):69-78.

WU Yuxin,TIAN Shuxin,LYU Zhengyi,et al.Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Rats by Regulating ErbB Subtypes in the Spinal Dorsal Horn[J].Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2026,67(01):69-78.
吴雨欣,田书心,吕政仪等.电针通过调控脊髓背角ErbB亚型干预大鼠炎性痛的机制研究[J].中医杂志,2026,67(01):69-78. DOI： 10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.01.011.

WU Yuxin,TIAN Shuxin,LYU Zhengyi,et al.Mechanism of Electroacupuncture Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Rats by Regulating ErbB Subtypes in the Spinal Dorsal Horn[J].Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2026,67(01):69-78. DOI： 10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.01.011.

摘要

目的

观察炎性痛模型大鼠脊髓背角表皮生长因子受体（ErbB）不同亚型表皮生长因子受体1（ErbB1）、表皮生长因子受体2（ErbB2）、表皮生长因子受体3（ErbB3）和表皮生长因子受体4（ErbB4）水平变化，探讨其介导痛觉过敏的作用机制及电针“足三里”“昆仑”干预的机制。

方法

分为5个部分。实验一将14只SD大鼠随机分为对照组和炎性痛组，每组7只，用于观察炎性痛大鼠行为学及脊髓背角ErbB不同亚型蛋白表达情况；实验二将30只大鼠随机分为对照1组、炎性痛1组及TX1-85-1低、中、高浓度组，每组6只，用于观察抑制脊髓ErbB3对炎性痛的影响；实验三将12只大鼠随机分为对照病毒组、ErbB3敲低病毒组，每组6只，用于观察敲低脊髓背角ErbB3对炎性痛的影响；实验四将44只大鼠随机分为对照2组、炎性痛2组、电针组、假电针组，每组11只，用于观察电针效应；实验五将40只大鼠随机分为对照3组、炎性痛3组、电针1组、电针+NRG1组，每组10只，用于观察激活ErbB3对电针效应的影响。采用SD大鼠单侧后足足底皮下注射100 μl弗氏完全佐剂的方法制备炎性痛大鼠模型。TX1-85-1低、中、高浓度组大鼠于造模后5~7天鞘内注射ErbB3抑制剂TX1-85-1；ErbB3敲低病毒组大鼠于造模前3周脊髓背角原位注射以腺病毒为载体的短发夹RNA（shRNA）包装的ErbB3敲低病毒；各电针组于造模后1~7天电针双侧“足三里”“昆仑”，采用疏密波，频率2 Hz/100 Hz，电流0.5~1.5 mA，每次30 min，每日1次；电针+NRG1组大鼠于造模后5~7天电针干预后鞘内注射ErbB3配体重组人神经调节蛋白-1（NRG1）。分别于造模后1、3、5、7天采用大鼠机械缩足阈值和热缩足潜伏期评价行为学，采用Western Blot法检测脊髓背角ErbB各亚型蛋白及其磷酸化水平。

结果

造模后1、3、5、7天，与对照组比较，炎性痛组大鼠机械缩足阈值及热缩足潜伏期降低，脊髓背角磷酸化ErbB3（p-ErbB3）蛋白表达升高（

＜0.01）。造模后5、7天，与炎性痛1组比较，TX1-85-1中、高浓度组大鼠机械缩足阈值和热缩足潜伏期升高，p-ErbB3蛋白表达降低（

＜0.05）。造模后1、3、5、7天，与对照病毒组比较，ErbB3敲低病毒组大鼠机械缩足阈值和热缩足潜伏期升高（

＜0.05）。造模后5、7天，与炎性痛2组和假电针组比较，电针组大鼠机械缩足阈值及热缩足潜伏期升高，p-ErbB3蛋白表达降低（

＜0.05）。造模后5、7天，与电针+NRG1组比较，电针1组大鼠机械缩足阈值及热缩足潜伏期升高（

＜0.05）。

结论

脊髓背角p-ErbB3参与炎性痛大鼠痛觉过敏；电针“足三里”“昆仑”可通过抑制大鼠脊髓背角p-ErbB3蛋白表达而缓解炎性痛。

Abstract

Objective

To observe the changes in the levels of different subtypes of epidermal growth factor receptor （ErbB）， namely ErbB1， ErbB2， ErbB3， and ErbB4， in the spinal dorsal horn of inflammatory pain model rats， and to explore their mechanism of mediating hyperalgesia as well as the intervention mechanism of electroacupuncture at "Zusanli （ST 36）" and "Kunlun （BL 60）".

Methods

The study was divided into five parts. In experiment 1， 14 Sprague Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into control and inflammatory pain group （7 rats each group） to observe the pain behavior and the protein expression of different ErbB receptor subtypes in the spinal dorsal horn. In experiment 2， 30 rats were randomly divided into control group 1， inflammatory pain group 1， and low-， medium-， and high-concentration TX1-85-1 groups， with 6 rats in each group， to observe the effect of inhibiting spinal ErbB3 on inflammatory pain. In experiment 3， 12 rats were randomly divided into control virus group and ErbB3 knockdown virus group， with 6 rats in each group， to observe the effect of knocking down ErbB3 in the spinal dorsal horn on inflammatory pain. In experiment 4， 44 rats were randomly divided into control group 2， inflammatory pain group 2， electroacupuncture group， and sham electroacupuncture group， with 11 rats in each group， to observe the effect of electroacupuncture. In experiment 5， 40 rats were randomly divided into control group 3， inflammatory pain group 3， electroacupuncture group 1， and electroacupuncture + NRG1 group， with 10 rats in each group， to observe the effect of activating ErbB3 on electroacupuncture. A rat model of inflammatory pain was established by subcutaneous injection of 100 μl of complete Freund's adjuvant into the sole of the unilateral hind foot of SD rats. Rats in the low-， medium-， and high-concentration TX1-85-1 groups were intrathecally injected with ErbB3 inhibitor TX1-85-1 on day 5 to day 7 after modeling. Rats in the ErbB3 knockdown virus group were injected with ErbB3 knockdown virus packaged with adenovirus vector-based short hairpin RNA （shRNA） into the spinal dorsal horn in situ 3 weeks before modeling. Rats in each electroacupuncture group received electroacupuncture at bilateral "Zusanli （ST 36）" and "Kunlun （BL 60）" from day 1 to day 7 after modeling， with dense-sparse waves at a frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz and a current of 0.5-1.5 mA for 30 minutes once a day. Rats in the electroacupuncture + NRG1 group were intrathecally injected with ErbB3 ligand recombinant human neuregulin-1 （NRG1） after electroacupuncture intervention from day 5 to day 7 after modeling. The mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats were measured on day 1， 3， 5， and 7 after modeling to evaluate behavior， and Western Blot was used to detect the protein and phosphorylation levels of each ErbB subtype in the spinal dorsal horn.

Results

Compared with the control group， rats in the inflammatory pain g

roup showed decreased mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats， and increased expression of phosphorylated ErbB3 （p-ErbB3） protein in the spinal dorsal horn on days 1， 3， 5， and 7 after modeling （

＜0.01）. On day 5 and day 7 after modeling， compared with the inflammatory pain group 1， the mecha-nical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats in the medium- and high-concentration TX1-85-1 groups increased， and the expression of p-ErbB3 protein decreased （

＜0.05）. On day 1， 3， 5， and 7 after modeling， compared with the control virus group， the mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats in the ErbB3 knockdown virus group increased （

＜0.05）. On day 5 and day 7 after modeling， compared with the inflammatory pain group 2 and the sham electroacupuncture group， the mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats in the electroacupuncture group increased， and the expression of p-ErbB3 protein decreased （

＜0.05）. On day 5 and day 7 after modeling， compared with the electroacupuncture + NRG1 group， the mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency of rats in the electroacupuncture group 1 increased （

＜0.05）.

Conclusion

The p-ErbB3 in the spinal dorsal horn involved in hyperalgesia in rats with inflammatory pain， and electroacupuncture at "Zusanli （ST 36）" and "Kunlun （BL 60）" can alleviate inflammatory pain by inhibiting the expression of p-ErbB3 protein in the spinal dorsal horn of rats.

关键词

Keywords

references

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