Growing evidences show that gut microbiota is associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the gut-brain axis can be promising target for the development of the therapeutic strategies for PD. Acupuncture has been used to improve brain functions and inflammation in neurological disorders such as PD, and to recover the gastrointestinal dysfunctions in various gastrointestinal disorders. Thus, we investigated whether acupuncture could improve Parkinsonism and gut microbial dysbiosis induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. First, we observed that acupuncture treatment at acupoints GB34 and ST36 could improve motor functions and comorbid anxiety in PD mice. Next, we found that acupuncture increased the levels of dopaminergic fibers and neurons in the striatum and the substantia nigra, respectively. Acupuncture also restored the overexpression of microglia and astrocyte as well as conversion of Bax and Bcl-2 expression in both the striatum and the substantia nigra, indicating that inflammatory responses and apoptosis were blocked by acupuncture. Additionally, via 16S rRNA sequence analysis, we observed that the relative abundance of 18 genera were changed in acupuncture-treated mice compared to the PD mice. Of them, Butyricimonas, Holdemania, Frisingicoccus, Gracilibacter, Phocea, and Aestuariispira showed significant correlations with anxiety as well as motor functions. Furthermore, the predicted functional analyses showed that acupuncture restored the physiology functions such as glutathione metabolism, methane metabolism, and PD pathway. In conclusion, we suggest that the effects of acupuncture on the enhanced motor function and the protection of the dopaminergic neurons may be associated with the regulation of the gut microbial dysbiosis and thus the inhibition of the neuroinflammation in the PD mice.

中文翻译：

---

针灸抑制帕金森病小鼠模型的神经炎症和肠道微生物失调

越来越多的证据表明，肠道微生物群与帕金森病 (PD) 的发病机制有关，而肠脑轴可能是开发 PD 治疗策略的有希望的目标。针灸已被用于改善神经系统疾病（如 PD）的脑功能和炎症，以及恢复各种胃肠道疾病的胃肠道功能障碍。因此，我们研究了针灸是否可以改善由 1-甲基-4-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶诱导的帕金森症和肠道微生物失调。首先，我们观察到针灸 GB34 和 ST36 穴位可以改善 PD 小鼠的运动功能和共患焦虑症。接下来，我们发现针灸分别增加了纹状体和黑质中多巴胺能纤维和神经元的水平。针刺还恢复了纹状体和黑质中小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞的过度表达以及 Bax 和 Bcl-2 表达的转换，表明针刺阻断了炎症反应和细胞凋亡。此外，通过 16S rRNA 序列分析，我们观察到与 PD 小鼠相比，针灸治疗的小鼠中 18 个属的相对丰度发生了变化。其中，Butyricimonas、Holdemania、Frisingicoccus、Gracilibacter、Phocea 和 Aestuariispira 与焦虑和运动功能显着相关。此外，预测的功能分析表明，针刺恢复了谷胱甘肽代谢、甲烷代谢和PD通路等生理功能。综上所述，