Yang YJ, Zhou XC, Tian HR, Liang FX. Electroacupuncture relieves type 2 diabetes by regulating gut microbiome. World J Diabetes 2025; 16(3): 103032 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i3.103032]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Feng-Xia Liang, Chief Physician, PhD, Professor, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 169 Donghu Road, Shuiguohu Street, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China. fxliang5@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Ya-Jing Yang, Hao-Ran Tian, Feng-Xia Liang, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, Hubei Province, China
Xu-Chang Zhou, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen 361003, Fujian Province, China
Co-first authors: Ya-Jing Yang and Xu-Chang Zhou.
Author contributions: Yang YJ and Zhou XC contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Liang FX and Zhou XC designed and coordinated the article; Yang YJ, Zhou XC, and Tian HR wrote the manuscript; All authors approved the final version of the article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Feng-Xia Liang, Chief Physician, PhD, Professor, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 169 Donghu Road, Shuiguohu Street, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China. fxliang5@hotmail.com
Received: November 6, 2024 Revised: December 30, 2024 Accepted: January 8, 2025 Published online: March 15, 2025 Processing time: 76 Days and 21.4 Hours
Abstract
Cumulative studies have shown that the composition of the gut microbiome is strongly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been reported to alleviate various diseases, including T2DM, by targeting specific acupuncture points and regulating metabolic homeostasis. A recent review published in the World Journal of Diabetes detailed the role of the gut microbiome in T2DM, discussing the role of therapeutic strategies developed to alleviate T2DM and its complications based on gut microbiome in ameliorating T2DM, as well as the effects of multiple diabetes medications on gut microbiome. However, the review did not elucidate the therapeutic role of EA therapy, a common non-pharmacological intervention for T2DM. This letter complemented the effect of EA therapy on glucose metabolism by adjusting the gut microbiome composition, which reveals the underlying mechanism of glucose lowering by EA therapy and provides a scientific basis for the application of EA therapy in clinical treatment.
Core Tip: The gut microbiome may indirectly affect the course of diabetes by influencing microbial metabolites, the intestinal barrier function, and the intestinal immune system. Recent studies have reported that electroacupuncture (EA) can rectify the imbalance of the gut microbiome. By reviewing the literature related to traditional Chinese medicine and modern microbiome, this paper discussed the mechanism of action of how EA improves glucose metabolism and treats type 2 diabetes mellitus from the perspective of the gut microbiome.
