The inflammatory reaction induced by ischemic myocardial injury(IMI)is divided into three phases

i.e.the inflammatory phase

the fibrous proliferative phase and the stable phase.The appropriate inflammatory reaction effectively removes the fragments of myocardial cells

which is the essential phase in the pathological progression of myocardial ischemia(MI).However

the excessive inflammatory reaction may aggravate the myocardial injury.For this reason

the immediate control of the post-injury inflammatory reaction is the principal therapeutic measure and the research hotspot at the present.Acupuncture intervention has been demonstrated to have positive roles in relieving MI and inflammatory reaction by suppressing myocardial inflammatory cytokines(suppressing IL-1β

TNF-α

IL-8

etc.)

adjusting inflammatory reaction pathway(NF-κB signaling

TGF-β

etc.)and activating cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.Therefore

it is feasible to explore the underlying mechanism of acupuncture therapy in protecting ischemic myocardium based on anti-inflammatory efficacy.