Effect of different moxibustion interventions on hepatic histomorphology and PD-1 expression in immunosuppressed rabbits

Objective To observe the changes in hepatic histomorphology and the differences in the expression of PD-1 after different moxibustion interventions in the immunosuppressed rabbits caused by cyclophosphamide and analyze the intervention effects of different moxibustion therapies.Methods A total of 40 big-ear white rabbits were randomized into 4 groups,i.e.a blank group,an immunosuppressed model group,a moxibustion group and a herbal-paste isolated moxibustion group,10 rabbits in each one.In the immunosuppressed model group,the moxibustion group and the herbal-paste isolated moxibustion group,the intraperitoneal injection with cyclophosphamide was administered consecutively for 7 days,60 mg/kg,and then,the immunosuppressed models were prepared.After the models were established successfully,in the moxibustion group and the herbal-paste isolated moxibustion group,moxibustion was administer at"Shénquè(神阙CV 8)""Guānyuán(关元CV 4)""Zúsānlĭ(足三里ST 36)""Píshū(脾俞BL20)"and"Shènshū(肾俞BL23)",once every other day,10 times in total.In the blank group and the immunosuppressed model group,the rabbits were restricted on the rabbit platform at the same time periods,without intervention.On the second day after the end of intervention,the animals were weighed and anesthetized,and the livers were extracted.After routine HE staining,the changes of hepatic histomorphology were observed under the microscope and the morphometric analysis was conducted in each group.Besides,PD-1 expression was observed with immunohistochemical method.Result Compared with the blank group,after modeling of each animal in three groups,the body mass decreased obviously(all P<0.01),the hepatocyte count decreased(all P<0.01),the inflammatory cellular infiltration area was increased obviously(all P<0.01),necrosis appeared in hepatic tissue and the positive expression of PD-1 in hepatic tissue was significantly increased(all P<0.01).After moxibustion intervention,compared with the immunosuppressed model group,the body masses of the animals were increased obviously(P<0.05,P<0.01),the hepatocyte count was increased obviously(both P<0.01),the infiltration area of inflammatory cells decreased significantly(both P<0.01)and the expression of the PD-1 decreased in the hepatic tissue(both P<0.05)in both the moxibustion group and the herbal-paste isolated moxibustion group.Compared with the moxibustion group,the animal body mass was higher obviously(P<0.01),the hepatocyte count was raised apparently(P<0.01)and the infiltration area of inflammatory cells were reduced obviously(P<0.05)in the herbal-paste isolated moxibustion group.Conclusion The intervention with different moxibustion therapies improves the condition of body mass reduction and hepatic tissue damage of the immunosuppressed rabbits caused by cyclophosphamide.The effect of herbal-paste isolated moxibustion therapy is better than that of simple moxibustion therapy.