The inducible nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide (iNOS/NO) signaling pathway and inflammatory cytokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of exercise-induced fatigue. Studies have found that Mongolian warm acupuncture (WA) could alleviate exercise-induced fatigue. However, the exact mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Mongolian WA on iNOS/NO signaling pathway and proinflammatory cytokines in a chronic exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue rat model. Animals were randomly divided into Control group, Ctrl + WA group, Model group, and Model + WA group. The body weight, exhaustive swimming time test, and Morris water maze test were performed before and after the chronic exhaustive swimming. The serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and iNOS were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and iNOS in the hippocampus were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Moreover, the protein expression of iNOS in the hippocampus was measured by western blot, and the NO productions in the serum and hippocampus were detected by Griess reaction system. Chronic exhaustive exercise significantly reduced the body weight and exhaustive swimming time, and induced impairment in learning and memory, and which were reversed by WA treatment. Chronic exhaustive exercise also increased the expressions of iNOS and proinflammatory cytokines, while WA treatment significantly decreased the level of iNOS and proinflammatory cytokines. However, chronic exhaustive exercise did not affect the NO production. These findings demonstrated that WA could alleviate the chronic exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue and improve the learning and memory ability, and the actions might be related to the reduction of inflammatory response and iNOS expression.

中文翻译：

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蒙古温针对慢性疲劳大鼠海马iNOS/NO及炎症细胞因子的影响。


诱导型一氧化氮合酶/一氧化氮（iNOS/NO）信号通路和炎症细胞因子在运动性疲劳的发病机制中发挥着重要作用。研究发现，蒙古温针灸（WA）可以缓解运动引起的疲劳。然而，其影响的确切机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们在慢性力竭游泳引起的疲劳大鼠模型中研究了蒙古WA对iNOS/NO信号通路和促炎细胞因子的影响。将动物随机分为对照组、Ctrl+WA组、模型组、模型+WA组。慢性力竭游泳前后进行体重、力竭游泳时间测试、Morris水迷宫测试。采用酶联免疫吸附法检测血清白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、iNOS水平测定（ELISA）。采用实时聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）检测海马IL-1β、IL-6、TNF-α、IFN-γ、iNOS mRNA表达量。采用Western blot检测海马iNOS蛋白表达，Griess反应体系检测血清和海马NO生成量。慢性力竭运动显着降低了体重和力竭游泳时间，并导致学习和记忆受损，而WA治疗可以逆转这种情况。慢性力竭运动还增加了 iNOS 和促炎细胞因子的表达，而 WA 治疗显着降低了 iNOS 和促炎细胞因子的水平。然而，长期的力竭运动并不影响一氧化氮的产生。 这些结果表明，WA可以缓解慢性力竭性游泳引起的疲劳，提高学习记忆能力，其作用可能与减少炎症反应和iNOS表达有关。