It has been shown that ischemia preconditioning(IPC)can attenuate the myocardial injury induced by ischemic and reperfusion.But it was rarely used in clinic due to its inoperability.Previous studies indicate that electroacupuncture(EA)pretreatment can mimic myocardial ischemia preconditioning(MIPC)to produce cardioprotective effect.The activated adenosine A 2 b receptor has been proven to be involved in mediating the cardioprotection of IPC.In the studies on acupuncture analgesia

it was reported that adenosine receptor was activated by acupuncture stimulation

and acupuncture pretreatment can affect the activities of intracellular A 2 b receptor.Based on those mentioned above

it is highly likely that the A 2 b receptor may also participate in the cardioprotection produced by acupuncture pretreatment.In this paper

we comprehensively reviewed relevant studies regarding 1)the cardioprotective effect of IPC and its limitations

2)the similar cardioprotection produced by both acupuncture pre-treatment and IPC

3)the mechanism underlying myocardial ischemic injury and intracellular calcium regulation

4)the activation of adenosine receptors and effects of acupuncture

5)the relationship between adenosine receptors and intracellular calcium ion

and 6)the effect of acupuncture on adenosine receptors

so as to provide a novel assumption that A 2 b receptor may be a key factor in mediating the cardioprotection of acupuncture pretreatment.Our future research will systematically explore the mechanism of acupuncture pretreatment in protecting ischemic myocardium from myocardial cell adenosine A 2 b receptor and intracellular calcium signal transduction related factors.