Mast cell activation in the acupoint is important for the electroacupuncture effect against pituitrin-induced bradycardia in rabbits

Abstract This research was conducted to verify the structural and functional characteristics of mast cells in the electroacupuncture (EA) effects on bradycardia. First, we examined the mast cell density at PC 6, adjacent acupoint LU 7, and a non-acupoint. We tested the effects of EA at PC 6 on heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) in rabbits with pituitrin-induced bradycardia. We also injected sodium cromolyn (Cro), a mast cell membrane stabilizer, at PC 6 30 min before EA to investigate if it affected the EA effects. The results showed that in both PC 6 and LU 7, the mast cell densities were higher than in the non-acupoint (P