EA alleviates UC by promoting colonic epithelial autophagy through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibition and restoring gut microbiota balance, offering a promising therapeutic strategy.
Electroacupuncture reduced disease activity index scores and preserved colon length in DSS-induced ulcerative colitis rats.
Electroacupuncture modulated serum cytokine levels by lowering pro-inflammatory cytokines and elevating anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Electroacupuncture alleviated colonic histological injury and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration.
Electroacupuncture improved autophagy markers in colonic cells of UC rats.
Electroacupuncture suppressed activity of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in colonic tissue.
Electroacupuncture enhanced gut microbiota diversity and altered microbiota composition in UC rats.
Fecal microbiota transplantation confirmed the functional role of EA-modulated microbiota in regulating autophagy and inflammation.
This research suggests that electroacupuncture (EA), a form of acupuncture that uses mild electrical stimulation through needles, can reduce intestinal inflammation in rats with a condition resembling ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease. Using a rat model where colitis was induced by a chemical called dextran sulfate sodium, the researchers found that EA treatment improved multiple measures of disease severity — including lower inflammation scores, better colon structure, reduced levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood, and less tissue damage visible under the microscope. The study also investigated how EA produces these effects at a cellular and microbial level. EA appeared to promote a cellular 'self-cleaning' process called autophagy in the colon lining, partly by suppressing a molecular signaling pathway (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) that normally keeps autophagy in check. In addition, EA restored healthier diversity and balance in the gut microbiome — the community of bacteria living in the intestines. To confirm that the microbiome changes were genuinely responsible for some of the benefits, the researchers performed fecal microbiota transplants (transferring gut bacteria between animals), which demonstrated that EA-altered microbiota could replicate some of the anti-inflammatory and autophagy-promoting effects. This research suggests that EA may work through at least two interconnected mechanisms — promoting cellular cleanup processes in the gut lining and rebalancing gut bacteria — to reduce inflammation in ulcerative colitis. While this study was conducted in rats and further research would be needed before drawing conclusions about human patients, the findings point to EA as a potentially promising complementary approach for inflammatory bowel disease and provide a biological rationale for future clinical investigation.
Huichao X, Jianheng H, Boya C, Danni W, Rangqian L, Yuxia C, et al.. (2026). Electroacupuncture alleviates intestinal inflammation in rats with ulcerative colitis by regulating colonic cell autophagy and gut microbiota.. Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan. https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.04.010