Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common degenerative bone and KOA patient suffer from knee pain, joint edema, dysfunction, low quality of life etc. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as an alternative and complementary therapy (ACM), has characteristics of non-invasive, economical, convenient. This study concentrated on the intestinal microbiota of KOA rats which treated with TENS for 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Three intensities of TENS had treated KOA rats and the expressions of IL6/8, PI3K-AKT were measured. The intestinal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Compared with the Model Control group, TENS could improve KOA rats and inhibit the expressions of IL6/8 by regulating the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. After 3 weeks of treatment with TENS, compared with the Model Control group, the abundances of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroidetes, and Thermodesulfobacteria increased in the TENS groups; the abundances of Firmicutes, Campylobacter, and Verruca decreased in the TENS groups. The changed intestinal microbiota could be the key mechanism of TENS function for treating KOA rats. TENS could improve KOA rats by regulating the intestinal microbiota. Further study will reveal the relationship between KOA and its intestinal microbiota, as well as the mechanism of TENS for KOA through regulating the changed microbiota.
马童(TongMa) (Thu,) studied this question.