Electroacupuncture Decreases the Leukocyte Infiltration to White Adipose Tissue and Attenuates Inflammatory Response in High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Rats
Figure 1
Effects of electroacupuncture on body weight, fat accumulation, and adipocyte hypertrophy in high fat diet rats. Animals with high fat diet-induced obesity were treated with EA once by daily for three times (T3) or seven times (T7) in the age of 20 weeks. Pair-feeding was conducted in three separate groups of obese rats to achieve the same body weight during this period; rat/group. Flow chart of the study design (a), detailed view of the growth curve during the experimental period, body weight (b, left panel), and food intake was measured on a per-cage basis throughout the study and represents cumulative energy intake (b, right panel) and total adipocyte size expressed at the end of treatment (c). H&E staining showing a decrease in adipocyte size in EA treatment rats, compared with obese animals fed a HFD (e). Distribution of adipocyte sizes indicates a shift in the size of the adipocyte population toward larger hypertrophied cells, reflected in a significant increase in the mean adipocyte size in HFD animals. , compared with normal chow group; , compared with HFD animals. NC: normal chow. HFD: high fat diet. EA: electroacupuncture. T3: three times of EA treatment. T7: seven times of EA treatment. Original magnification ×40. Scale bars, 100 μm.
