Research progress on acupuncture and moxibustion for treatment of Crohn's disease based on the regulation of innate immunity

Abstract

Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease whose pathogenesis remains unclear. In this paper, we reviewed the basic research of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating CD by regulating intestinal intrinsic immunity, and summarized in more detail that acupuncture and moxibustion can regulate the intestinal intrinsic immune system through the intestinal epithelial cell barrier, monocytes/macrophages, natural killer cells (NK cells), dendritic cells (DC), and neutrophils. Specifically, acupuncture and moxibustion can reduce the expression of inflammatory factors in the intestinal mucosa, alleviate intestinal fibrosis to repair the mechanical barrier of the intestinal mucosa, inhibit the expression of molecules of the MAPK, TLR/NF-κB signaling pathway and inflammatory factors, block the NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathway, and prevent the overactivation of neutrophils to control inflammatory responses, repairing the damaged intestinal tract and alleviating CD symptoms. This paper illustrated the characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion for CD, which involves multi targets and pathways, aiming to provide guidance for the clinical application and basic research of acupuncture and moxibustion for CD. It also pointed out the current drawbacks of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, and finally proposing the shortcomings of the current research, including the insufficient number of studies on acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of CD through the modulation of NK cells and neutrophils, the lack of standardization in acupuncture point selection, duration and treatment course, and the geographical limitations of the research locations for acupuncture and moxibustion in treating CD.