Clinical practice has shown that acupuncture at facial acupoints has curative effects onsome visceral diseases (especially gastrointestinal diseases). However, the physiological basis has not been clarified yet. In the present study, expression of c-fos in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) of rats following gastric distension and electroacupuncture (EA) at Yangbai (GB14) and Sibai (ST2) as well as Jiache (ST6) acupoints was observed by using immunohistochemistry technique. After EA at the three facial acupoints, c-fos immunoreactive (c-fos-IR) neurons were mainly distributed in the medial (mNTS) and intermediate subnucleus of the NTS, and a few were scatteredly distributed in the dorsalmedial and commissural subnucleus of the NTS. Furthermore, there is difference in the number of c-fos-IR neurons in the mNTS following EA at the three facial acupoints. The number in the EA at ST2 and GB14 group is the highest and the lowest, respectively. Gastric distension induces obviously the expression of c-fos, which is mainly confined in the mNTS. The results suggest that the noxious visceral and somatic afferent information from the stomach and face may converge in the mNTS, which may be involved in the effect of EA at facial acupoints on the gastrointestinal pain.

AIM: To investigate electroacupunture(EA) at the acupoints of Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming(SMFY), Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Yangming(SMFY) on gastric mucosal intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) gene expression detection in stress-induced rats with gastric mucosal lesion, and to explore the regulatory mechanism and signify cance of EA-related gastric mucosal protective effect. METHODS: Forty rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Blank group, Model group, Model group＋EA at acupoints of SMFY group(“SMFY group”), and Model group＋EA at acupoints of GMFY group(GMFY group). All rats (except blank group) were made model by water immersion and restraint stress (WRS). Then the gastric mucosa tissue in each rat was taken off after assessment of gastric mucosal lesion index(GUI), and the expression of ITF mRNA of the tissues was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) method. RESULTS: Compared with Model group(54.3 ± 1.34), the GUI value in SMFY group (31 ± 2.21) decreased significantly(P < 0.01), so did that in GMFY group (39.8 ± 1.62, P < 0.05), meanwhile GUI value in SMFY group was significantly lower than in GMFY group(P < 0.01). Compared with Model group (0.65 ± 0.01), EA had a tendency to improve the expression of gastric mucosal ITFmRNA gene: such tendency existed in GMFY group (0.66 ± 0.01) but with no signficant difference(P > 0.05), in SMFY group(0.76 ± 0.01) with an extremely obvious difference (P < 0.01), furthermore the expression in SMFY group was significantly higher than in GMFY group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The gastric mucosal protective effect by EA at the acupoints of SMFY and GMFY was related to the expression variance of ITF, indicating certain meridian specifi city exists. It could be one proof for the TCM theory “Relative particularity between SMFY and stomach”.

Acupuncture has been widely applied to treat gastrointestinal diseases in the clinic. However, its precise mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli acupoints (ST36) on gastric myoelectric activity and substance P (SP) in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) were observed. EA at ST36 significantly increased the frequency of slow waves and the frequency of the spike potentials superimposed on the slow waves, which persisted for 90 min after cessation of EA and was completely abolished after bilateral vagotomy. Meanwhile, the mean optical density of SP immunoreactive fibers in the DVC increased following EA. The results suggested that EA at ST36 promoted the gastric myoelectric activity, which was regulated by the vagus, and SP in the DVC may be involved in the excitatory effects. Furthermore, EA had a relative long-term post-effect. We presumed that DVC may be a supraspinal center in the effect of EA on gastric function. q 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

AIM：To explore the regularity of multi-meridians controlling a same viscus (MMCSV) METHODS: The rabbit gastric ulcer model was established by ethanol intragastric instillation. Fifty-six rabbits were randomly divided into normal group (NG), model group (MG), model plus acupuncture at Foot Yangming Meridian group (YMG), model plus acupuncture at Foot Taiyin Meridian group (TYG), model plus acupuncture at Foot Shaoyang Meridian group (SYG), model plus acupuncture at Foot Jueyin Meridian group (JYG), model plus acupuncture at Foot Taiyang Meridian group (TYMG), 8 rabbits each group. Gastric mucosal nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) were assayed by the nitric acid reductase method, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were measured by radioimmunoassay. The comprehensive effects were analyzed by weighting method. RESULTS: Compared to MG, SYG, JYG and TYMG, the rabbits gastric mucosal injury index (GMII) reduced very significantly in YMG (P<0.01). And compared to MG, the GMII also reduced significantly in TYG (P<0.05). NO, NOS, PGE2 and EGF increased very significantly in YMG (P<0.01). The EGF in YMG also increased significantly than that in TYG compared to those in MG, SYG, JYG and TYMG（P<0.05）. The PGE2 and EGF also increased very significantly in TYG than those in MG, JYG and TYMG (P<0.01). While compared to SYG, the NOS increased significantly in TYG (P<0.05). NOS was the highest in YMG (P<0.01), and was higher in TYG than in MG (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: MMCSV is common. The Foot Yangming Meridian is most closely related to the stomach, followed by Foot Taiyin Meridian, Foot Shaoyang Meridian and Foot Jueyin Meridian. Foot Taiyang Meridian has no correlation with the stomach.