HYBRID EVENT: You can participate in person at Valencia, Spain or Virtually from your home or work.
Valencia, Spain
September 08-10, 2025
ICTM 2025

Electroacupuncture-mediated sympathetic activation of brown adipose tissue in PCOS-like model

Xiaoyu Tong, Speaker at Ethnomedicine Conferences
Fudan University, China
Title : Electroacupuncture-mediated sympathetic activation of brown adipose tissue in PCOS-like model

Abstract:

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a metabolic-endocrine disorder driven by adipose dysfunction, lacks therapies targeting its neuroendocrine origins. While low-frequency electroacupuncture (EA) at Guilai (“ST29”) and Sanyinjiao (“SP6”) improves PCOS-associated obesity via white adipose tissue (WAT) modulation, the role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and its sympathetic regulation remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that EA at Jiaji (“EX-B2”, paravertebral T3-T5)—acupoints anatomically aligned with BAT-innervating sympathetic ganglia—restores metabolic-reproductive homeostasis in PCOS-like rats. EX-B2 EA normalized estrous cyclicity, reduced visceral adiposity, and enhanced BAT thermogenic activity (volume↑, UCP1↑), while 3D neuroimaging revealed sympathetic nerve arborization within BAT. In contrast, ST29/SP6 EA preferentially attenuated WAT inflammation in obese models, underscoring tissue-specific neuromodulation. Mechanistically, EX-B2 EA amplified sympathetic outflow to BAT, driving mitochondrial remodeling and systemic lipid oxidation. Sympathectomy abolished these benefits, confirming intact innervation as essential for BAT functional activation. Conversely, ST29/SP6 EA suppressed WAT-derived proinflammatory cytokines without BAT engagement, highlighting divergent adipose-sympathetic pathways. These findings position EA as a dual-axis intervention: BAT-centric EX-B2 targets sympathetic neuroplasticity to resolve hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance, while WAT-focused ST29/SP6 mitigates obesity-related inflammation.

Biography:

She earned her Bachelor's degree in Clinical Traditional Chinese Medicine from Anhui University of Chinese Medicine (2012–2017), followed by a Master's degree in Basic Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine from Fudan University (2017–2020). Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in the same field at Fudan University, beginning in 2024. She has been affiliated with the Basic Medical School at Fudan University, where she first served as an Assistant Researcher from 2020 to 2021 before taking on the role of Experimental Technician, a position she continues to hold. In 2019, she further enriched her research experience through a traineeship at Stanford University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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