To observe the influence of moxibustion on serum interleukin -17 (IL-17) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats, so as to study its mechanism underlying improvement of rheumatoid arthritis.
A total of 40 male Wistar rats were used in the present study, and 8 rats were randomly selected as a normal control group. The other 32 rats were modeled. The primary immunity emulsion was made with mixed Type Ⅱ chicken collagen and complete Freund's adjuvant, and 0.3 mL emulsion (containing 0.3 mg collagen) was injected equally into left pelma, tail root and the back. Seven days after the primary immune, the same procedure was conducted to induce the secondary immunity, and the emulsion was made with mixed Type Ⅱ chicken collagen and incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The whole course of mo-deling lasted 21 days. And then 24 CIA rats were randomly divided into model group, medication group and moxibustion group (
After modeling, the left ankle diameter and serum concentrations of IL-17 and TNF-α increased (
Moxi-bustion is effective in CIA rats, and the mechanism may be related to the reduction of serum IL-17 and TNF-α levels.