What is it about?
This study aimed to clarify the roles of mechanosensitive channels: transient receptor potential vanilloid receptors 1 and 4 (TRPV1 and TRPV4), and the acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3), at the Zusanli acupoint (ST36). This shed some lights on how the physical stimulation is turned into neurological signalling
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Why is it important?
The result shows that TRPV1 is expressed in neural and non-neural cells at acupoints, and its activation may replicate the effect of acupuncture. This may lead to clinical studies of capsaicin application to acupoints. Perhaps the application of capsaicin or other TRPV1 agonists that will represent an additional treatment option to enhance the effect of acupuncture
Perspectives
Multiple studies have demonstrated the importance of the activation of TRPV1 in therapeutic use. With better insight on the relationship between physical stimulation and peripheral sensory afferents, it helps better treatments combining acupuncture and medication
Yi-Wen Lin
China Medical University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Abundant expression and functional participation of TRPV1 at Zusanli acupoint (ST36) in mice: mechanosensitive TRPV1 as an “acupuncture-responding channel”, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, March 2014, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-96.
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