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CC BY 4.0 · Chinese medicine and natural products 2022; 02(01): e5-e10
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1747914
Review Article

Research Progress on Molecular Mechanism of Moxibustion in the Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Min Yan
1   School of Pharmacy, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China
,
Jiangshan Huali
2   School of Nursing, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
,
Linyun Wu
2   School of Nursing, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
,
Xiao Zhou
3   School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
,
Qing Yang
4   The First Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
,
Qinfeng Wu
5   The Third Clinical Medical College, College of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
,
Xi Liu
6   College of Basic Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
,
Hongyuan Wang
7   Department of Rheumatology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
,
Xiao Xu
2   School of Nursing, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
› Author Affiliations Funding This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81904274).
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Abstract

As an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nursing technology, moxibustion plays a unique role in improving the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The research on the mechanism of moxibustion intervention in AS mainly focuses on anti-inflammatory effects, immune regulation, bone metabolism regulation, intestinal flora regulation, and so on. Molecular medicine is of great significance to further clarify the mechanism of moxibustion intervention in AS. However, there are still some problems in the research on the molecular mechanism of moxibustion intervention in AS: the existing biomedical research methods only explore from a specific field and lack the exploration of moxibustion-targeted molecules based on biomedical network. In the future, the molecular network effect of moxibustion on AS can be discussed comprehensively and systematically with the help of omics technology and the construction of biological information interaction network between omics. The effect of moxibustion on upstream osteogenic transcription factors and related signaling pathways such as WNT, β-catenin, and BMP/Smads is not yet clear. Future research can focus on the relevant signal targets of bone reconstruction and clarify the mechanism of moxibustion against the new bone formation. In addition, there is a lack of research on the molecular mechanism of moxibustion in the treatment of AS from the perspective of metabolites. It is necessary to further explore the mechanism of moxibustion in the treatment of AS with the help of metabonomics technology.

Keywords

ankylosing spondylitis - moxibustion - molecular mechanism - anti-inflammatory - bone metabolism - intestinal flora

Credit Autorship Contribution Statement

Min Yan: Conceptualization, writing-original draft. Jiangshan Huali: Validation and visualization. Linyun Wu: Validation and visualization. Xiao Zhou: Validation and visualization. Qing Yang: Validation and visualization. Qinfeng Wu: Conceptualization, investigation, methodology, and writing - review & editing. Xi Liu: Methodology. Hongyuan Wang: Validation and visualization. Xiao Xu: Conceptualization, funding acquisition, methodology, resources, software, validation, visualization, and writing - review & editing.




Publication History

Received: 02 January 2022

Accepted: 22 February 2022

Article published online:
07 July 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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