Role of TRPV1 in electroacupuncture-mediated signal to the primary sensory cortex during regulation of the swallowing function.

Si Yuan, Bo Qiu, Ying Liang, Bing Deng, Jing Xu, Xiaorong Tang, Junshang Wu, Sheng Zhou, Zeli Li, Hongzhu Li, Qiuping Ye, Lin Wang, Shuai Cui, Chunzhi Tang, Wei Yi, Lulu Yao, Nenggui Xu

CNS neuroscience & therapeutics 2024 Mar

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Electroacupuncture (EA) at the Lianquan (CV23) could alleviate swallowing dysfunction. However, current knowledge of its neural modulation focused on the brain, with little evidence from the periphery. Transient receptor potential channel vanilloid subfamily 1 (TRPV1) is an ion channel predominantly expressed in sensory neurons, and acupuncture can trigger calcium ion (Ca2+ ) wave propagation through active TRPV1 to deliver signals. The present study aimed to investigate whether TRPV1 mediated the signal of EA to the primary sensory cortex (S1) during regulation of swallowing function. Blood perfusion was evaluated by laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and neuronal activity was evaluated by fiber calcium recording and c-Fos staining. The expression of TRPV1 was detected by RNA-seq analysis, immunofluorescence, and ELISA. In addition, the swallowing function was assessed by in vivo EMG recording and water consumption test. EA treatment potentiated blood perfusion and neuronal activity in the S1, and this potentiation was absent after injecting lidocaine near CV23. TRPV1 near CV23 was upregulated by EA-CV23. The blood perfusion at CV23 was decreased in the TRPV1 hypofunction mice, while the blood perfusion and the neuronal activity of the S1 showed no obvious change. These findings were also present in post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) mice. The TRPV1 at CV23 after EA treatment might play a key role in mediating local blood perfusion but was not involved in transferring EA signals to the central nervous system (CNS). These findings collectively suggested that TRPV1 may be one of the important regulators involved in the mechanism of EA treatment for improving swallowing function in PSD. © 2023 The Authors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Citation

Si Yuan, Bo Qiu, Ying Liang, Bing Deng, Jing Xu, Xiaorong Tang, Junshang Wu, Sheng Zhou, Zeli Li, Hongzhu Li, Qiuping Ye, Lin Wang, Shuai Cui, Chunzhi Tang, Wei Yi, Lulu Yao, Nenggui Xu. Role of TRPV1 in electroacupuncture-mediated signal to the primary sensory cortex during regulation of the swallowing function. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics. 2024 Mar;30(3):e14457