SCIENCE@home

Fu's Subcutaneous Needling Therapy Significantly Enhances Pain Relief in Sciatica Rats by Promoting Mitochondrial Autophagy.

Yarong Sun,Zhenquan Wei,Po-En Chiu,Ruolin Xie,Jiaqi Li,Y. Zang,Li-Wei Chou

Published 2025 in Biomedical Journal

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Mitochondrial autophagy is linked to neuropathic pain. This study explores how Fu's subcutaneous needling (FSN) affects sciatica via mitochondrial autophagy modulation. METHODS 40 male SD rats were divided into four groups. Except for the control group (COT), the other three groups were utilized to establish a chronic sciatic nerve injury model. Mechanical pain thresholds were measured. FSN and acupuncture (ACP) groups received treatments every other day for four sessions. Mitochondrial quantity and morphology were examined under a transmission electron microscope, and the expression levels of PINK1, Parkin, and P62 proteins in the rat pyriform were analyzed through immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Furthermore, the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 inflammatory factors in the serum of all groups were measured using ELISA, and the expression levels of midbrain opioid receptors κ and μ mRNA in each group of rats were determined via qPCR. RESULTS FSN and ACP groups showed higher pain thresholds than the model group from the second intervention. FSN outperformed ACP after the fourth intervention. Transmission electron microscope showed improved mitochondrial morphology in FSN and ACP groups, with FSN showing better morphology. FSN upregulated PINK1/Parkin and downregulated P62. FSN also reduced TNF-α and IL-6 levels. CONCLUSIONS FSN alleviates neuropathic pain by enhancing mitochondrial autophagy, restoring mitochondrial dynamics, and reducing inflammation. It shows promise as a therapeutic strategy for neuropathic pain.

PUBLICATION RECORD

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-67 of 67 references · Page 1 of 1

CITED BY

  • No citing papers are available for this paper.

Showing 0-0 of 0 citing papers · Page 1 of 1