{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T03:41:51Z","timestamp":1789011711088,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,14]],"date-time":"2022-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663113600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"DMR-111-248","award":["DMR-111-248"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DMR-111-248"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Background: The medical practice of acupuncture involves the insertion of a specialized stainless needle into a specific body point, often called an acupoint, to initiate a perceived phenomenon of de-qi sensation. Therefore, the term \u201cde-qi\u201d describes bodily sensations experienced by the recipient during acupuncture, which may include feelings of soreness, heaviness, fullness, numbness, and migration. However, while acupuncture treatments reportedly result in acupoint activation and an increased release of neurotransmitters or cytokines, detecting these substances released into the acupoint microenvironment is often missed or delayed in clinical and basic practice. (2) Methods: To address this situation, we employed a paper-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method to examine acupoint environmental changes using minute volumes of easily accessible acupoint fluids. (3) Results: Our results indicated that while levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), interleukin-1\u03b2, interleukin-6, glutamate, substance P, and histamine were all increased in the experimental group following electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, contrary results were observed in the sham EA and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (Trpv1\u2212\/\u2212) groups. Subsequently, TRPV1 and its associated molecules were augmented in mouse dorsal root ganglion, spinal cord, thalamus, and the somatosensory cortex, then examined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. Investigations revealed that these elevations were still unobserved in the sham EA or EA in the Trpv1\u2212\/\u2212 groups. Furthermore, results showed that while administering ATP could mimic EA function, it could be reversed by the ATP P2 receptor antagonist, suramin. (4) Conclusions: Our data provide novel information, indicating that changes in neurotransmitter and cytokine levels can offer insight into acupuncture mechanisms and clinical targeting.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells11182869","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,14]],"date-time":"2022-09-14T20:50:45Z","timestamp":1663188645000},"page":"2869","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Paper-Based Detection Device for Microenvironment Examination: Measuring Neurotransmitters and Cytokines in the Mice Acupoint"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6245-9023","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"I-Han","family":"Hsiao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404332, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hsien-Yin","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404333, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8644-1960","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chao-Min","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chia-Ming","family":"Yen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung 42743, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7204-8837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi-Wen","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404333, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"411","article-title":"Acupuncture and the retrospect of its modern research","volume":"60","author":"Antochi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Rom. 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