{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T16:10:58Z","timestamp":1775146258727,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775001600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE) and Gangwon Province (G.S.), Republic of Korea","award":["2026-RISE-10-005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026-RISE-10-005"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) entails the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), accompanied by \u03b1-synuclein (\u03b1-syn)-enriched Lewy bodies. ITGA7 mediates cell\u2013extracellular matrix adhesion and modulates apoptosis, though its involvement in PD pathogenesis warrants further investigation. Although acupuncture demonstrates neuroprotective effects in PD models, its precise molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood; therefore, in this study, we explored the relationship between ITGA7 and \u03b1-synuclein expression in an MPTP-induced PD mouse model to determine the association between LR3\/GB34 acupuncture-induced changes in \u03b1-synuclein levels and ITGA7 modulation. Materials and Methods: In the in vivo model, MPTP-induced PD mice underwent immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting to assess ITGA7, \u03b1-synuclein, and TH levels in the SN and striatal tissues following LR3\/GB34 acupuncture. In parallel, for the in vitro mechanistic study, SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells treated with MPP+ and transfected with ITGA7-siRNA were utilized to examine the involvement of apoptosis-related signaling pathways. Results: In the in vivo model, MPTP administration downregulated ITGA7 and upregulated \u03b1-synuclein in SN tissues. Similarly, in vitro exposure of SH-SY5Y cells to MPP+ yielded comparable results, revealing an inverse correlation between ITGA7 and \u03b1-synuclein. LR3\/GB34 acupuncture treatment in the mouse model significantly increased ITGA7 and TH expression while reducing \u03b1-synuclein accumulation. To further understand the specific role of ITGA7 observed in these animal findings, we silenced ITGA7 in the MPP+-treated cellular model. ITGA7 silencing exacerbated the neurotoxic effects, leading to further TH downregulation, \u03b1-synuclein upregulation, Bcl-2 reduction, and Bax\/Bcl-2 ratio elevation. Conclusions: Collectively, the histological preservation of dopaminergic neurons following LR3\/GB34 acupuncture in the PD mouse model appears to be linked to ITGA7 upregulation. Furthermore, our in vitro findings implicate ITGA7 in the regulation of apoptosis-related signaling cascades, supporting its potential role in mitigating \u03b1-synuclein pathology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62040670","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T15:14:43Z","timestamp":1775142883000},"page":"670","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association Between Acupuncture\u2019s Neuroprotective Effects and Integrin Alpha 7"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4861-5808","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sangeun","family":"Han","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Korean Medicine Data Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Korean Convergence Medical Science, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0509-6681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabina","family":"Lim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Meridian and Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9883-6153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sujung","family":"Yeo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Korean Medicine, Sang Ji University, Wonju 26339, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp.2007.131045","article-title":"Parkinson\u2019s disease: Clinical features and diagnosis","volume":"79","author":"Jankovic","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. 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