PAKISTAN VETERINARY JOURNAL

Pak Vet J, 2026, 46(3) 670-680

Combination of Acupoint-Targeted Subhypnotic Dexmedetomidine and Electroacupuncture as a Novel Multimodal Therapy for Alleviating Inflammatory Pain in Mice

Mahmoud M Abouelfetouh^1,2, Eman Salah³, Hao Li¹, Meng Li¹, Amany Ramah^4,5, Muhammad Kashif Maan^1,6, Faisal Ayub Kiani^1,7, Mingxing Ding¹, Fei Huang⁸*and Yi Ding¹*

¹College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430070, China; ²Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Moshtohor, 13736, Egypt; ³Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Moshtohor, 13736, Egypt; ⁴Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan; ⁵Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Moshtohor, 13736, Egypt; ⁶Department of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan; ⁷Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariyah University, Multan, Pakistan; ⁸Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.

*Corresponding author: dingyi@mail.hzau.edu.cn (YD); dfeihuang@163.com (FH)

Abstract

Quality of life is markedly influenced by inflammatory pain, with current therapeutic options frequently necessitating extended treatment periods and resulting in many undesirable side effects. In the present study, a Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA)-induced model was employed to examine the therapeutic potential of electroacupuncture (EA) in conjunction with subhypnotic doses of dexmedetomidine (DEX) administered at acupoints for managing inflammatory pain. The experimental design involved 36 healthy male C57BL/6 mice equally divided into six experimental treatments: saline (SAL), CFA, diclofenac sodium standard treatment (ST), DEX, EA and combined DEX-EA, with six mice in each group. Treatments commenced 48h following CFA administration, consisting of four treatment sessions at two-day intervals. Following each treatment session, nociceptive thresholds were evaluated. After the last session, paw tissue samples collected from affected paws were subjected to histopathological and immunohistochemical examination, and RNA seq was performed on spinal cord specimens. Results revealed that the DEX-EA therapy produced significantly higher nociceptive thresholds compared to the CFA, DEX monotherapy, and EA monotherapy (P<0.05). Additionally, inflammatory indices showed significant improvements with the DEX-EA, with decreased levels of CD45, MPO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β compared to the CFA, DEX monotherapy, and EA monotherapy (P<0.05). Compared to the CFA, non-significant variations were found in nociceptive thresholds and IL-6 level in the DEX and EA monotherapies; however, a significant decrease was found in the level of CD45, MPO, and IL-1β (P<0.05). Transcriptomic data revealed 65 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), demonstrating enhanced expression of genes associated with GABAergic neurotransmission, degradative pathways, and autophagic mechanisms. The findings demonstrate that combining EA with DEX produces synergistic anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects mediated through spinal cord mechanisms.

To Cite This Article: Abouelfetouh MM, Salah E, Li H, Li M, Ramah A, Maan MK, Kiani FA, Ding M, Fei Hand Ding Y, 2026. Combination of acupoint-targeted subhypnotic dexmedetomidine and electroacupuncture as a novel multimodal therapy for alleviating inflammatory pain in mice. Pak Vet J, 46(3): 670-680. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.056

Abstract

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)
ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)