基于Th1/Th2、Th17/Treg平衡探究针刺对乳腺癌小鼠的免疫调节机制OA

Objective:To investigate the regulatory effect of acupuncture on immune function and its underlying mechanism in mice with breast cancer(BC)after chemotherapy.Methods:Forty female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into a normal group,a model group,a chemotherapy group,an acupuncture group,and a chemotherapy+ac-upuncture group,with 8 mice in each group.A BC model was established using 4T1-Luc cells.After successful mod-eling,the chemotherapy group was intraperitoneally injected with epirubicin.For the acupuncture group,bilateral Zu-sanli(ST36),Sanyinjiao(SP6),Neiguan(PC6),Guanyuan(CV4),Qihai(CV6)and Zhongwan(CV12)were select-ed as acupoints,and acupuncture was administered for 30 minutes per day.The chemotherapy+acupuncture group received the combined interventions of the chemotherapy group and the acupuncture group.After 14 consecutive days of intervention,the tumor volume,tumor weight and spleen size of the mice were measured and observed.The ex-pression levels of interferon-γ(IFN-γ),interleukin-4(IL-4),interleukin-17(IL-17),interleukin-10(IL-10)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The proportions of CD4+T,CD8+T,Th1,Th2,Th17 and Treg cells in the mouse spleen were determined by flow cytometry.Results:The tumor volume,tumor weight and spleen index were all decreased in the acupuncture group,chemotherapy group and chemotherapy+acupuncture group,with the most significant reduction in the chemotherapy+acupuncture group.In terms of cytokines,compared with the chemotherapy group,the chemotherapy+acupuncture group had a significantly increased content of the anti-tumor factor IFN-γ(P＜0.01),a markedly decreased content of the pro-tumor factors IL-17 and IL-10(P＜0.01),and an elevated content of TNF-α(P＜0.05).Regarding T lymphocytes,compared with the chemotherapy group,the chemotherapy+acupuncture group up-regulated the proportions of CD4+T and CD8+T cells(P＜0.01)and down-regulated the proportions of Th17 and Treg cells(P＜0.05);com-pared with the model group,the chemotherapy+acupuncture group increased the Th1/Th2 ratio(P＜0.05).Con-clusion:Acupuncture ameliorates the chemotherapy-induced immune dysfunction in BC mice,which may be associated with regulating the expression levels of cytokines,up-regulating the proportions of CD4+T and CD8+T cells,modu-lating the dynamic balance of Th1/Th2,and down-regulating the proportions of Th17 and Treg cells.