Electro-acupuncture stimulation to muscle afferents in anesthetized rats modulates the blood flow to the knee joint through autonomic reflexes and nitric oxide.

Recent reports have focused on the mechanisms of the action of electro-acupuncture stimulation (EAS) in the regulation of blood flow to different tissues. In the knee joint, blood flow is known to be modulated mainly by sympathetic postganglionic fibers, but recently the release or induction of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in response to electrical stimulation has also been suggested. Therefore, a direct observation of the microcirculation is needed to further understand the mechanism by which blood flow is regulated by somatic afferent stimulation. In the present study, the effects of EAS to the vastus medialis muscle on systemic hemodynamics and the knee joint microcirculation were observed in vivo using a real-time confocal laser-scanning microscope system (CLMS). Electrical stimulation (5 mA, 0.5 ms, 5 Hz) was applied for 30 min using a pair of acupuncture needles introduced into the vastus medialis muscle. To clarify a plausible involvement of NO in the responses to EAS, the stimulus was applied either in the presence or absence of N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Stimulation to either the muscle or the skin of the thigh after blockade of neuromuscular transmission was performed to determine the involvement of muscle contraction during EAS treatment. The changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and diameter of the arterioles supplying the knee joint were monitored continuously until 60 min poststimulus. Significant and persistent increases in arteriolar diameter by 26 +/- 6% and MAP by 17 +/- 2%, respectively, were observed after EAS to the muscle. Electro-acupuncture to the vastus medialis in the presence of L-NAME produced a strong decrease in diameter of the knee joint arterioles by -38 +/- 14% under the baseline with a simultaneous increase of 35 +/- 5% in MAP. EAS to the skin did not produce changes in arteriolar diameter while a slight increase in MAP by 12 +/- 6% over the baseline occurred after the stimulus. EAS to the muscle after neuromuscular blockade did not produce significant changes in diameter, while an increase in MAP by 24 +/- 8% was still observed, which facts suggest that the muscle contraction is required to produce vasodilatation. These responses suggest that a dynamic balance between the autonomic nervous system and the release of NO is the primary mechanism mediating the EAS effects on knee joint microcirculation.