Review Article

The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture and Their Relevance to Allergic Rhinitis: A Narrative Review and Proposed Model

Figure 1

The role of transient receptor potential vallinoid 1 (TRPV1) in early-phase response in allergic rhinitis. Nerve growth factor (NGF) activates tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) receptor which in turn increases production and release of substance P (SP). Activation of TrkA receptor also initiates signalling via the PI3K/PIP3 pathway to increase expression and sensitivity of transient receptor potential vallinoid (TRPV1) receptor. TRPV1 receptor increases production and release of proinflammatory neuropeptides SP and CGRP which act synergistically to promote degranulation of primed mast cells. Histamine released by mast cells activates Histamine 1 receptor (H1R) producing signalling via the phospholipase A2/lipoxygenase pathway to activate TRPV1, triggering early-phase allergic inflammatory response. NGF: nerve growth factor, TRPV1: transient receptor potential vallinoid 1, TrkA: tyrosine kinase A receptor, H1R: histamine 1 receptor, SP: substance P, CGRP: calcitonin gene-related peptide, PI3K/PIP3: phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/phosphatidylinositol phosphate 3 pathway, PLA2/LO: phospholipase A2/lipoxygenase pathway.
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