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[Effect of moxibustion combined with acupoint catgut embedding on IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in colonic mucosa of ulcerative colitis rats].

OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of moxibustion combined with acupoint catgut embedding on the content of interleukin 6 (IL-6), and the expressions of janus activated kinase (JAK), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in colonic mucosa of rats with ulcerative colitis (UC), so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of UC.


METHODS
Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into normal, model, acupoint catgut embedding (ACE), moxibustion and acupoint catgut embedding combined with moxibustion (combination) groups (n=6 rats in each group). The UC model was established by enema of trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid and ethanol. Moxibustion was applied to bilateral "Tianshu" (ST25), "Dachangshu" (BL25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST37) for 10 min, once daily for 14 days, and ACE applied to the same 3 acupoints, once a week for two weeks. After the treatment, colonic mucosal pathological changes were observed by H.E. staining, the level of IL-6 in colonic mucosa was assayed by ELISA, and the expressions of JAK and STAT3 in colonic mucosa were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot.


RESULTS
H.E. staining showed severe defect of the colonic mucosal epithelium with infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells in the model group, which was milder in moxibustion, ACE and combination groups. After modeling, the content of colonic IL-6, and the expression levels of JAK and STAT3 were obviously increased (P<0.01) in the model group relevant to the normal group. Following the intervention, the increase of IL-6 contents, and JAK and STAT3 expressions were reversed (P<0.05, P<0.01) in moxibustion, ACE and combination groups. The therapeutic effects of moxibustion combined with ACE were considerably superior to those of simple ACE and simple moxibustion in down-regulating the levels of JAK and STAT3 expression (P<0.01).


CONCLUSION
Acupoint catgut embedding combined with moxibustion can repair the injured colonic mucosa of UC rats, which may be related with its effect in suppressing the activation of IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway.