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1 Department of Medicine, Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jcl{at}uci.edu.
Electroacupuncture (EA) at Neiguan-Jianshi acupoints through an opioid mechanism inhibits the cardiovascular pressor response induced by mechanical stimulation of the
stomach. Because nociceptin also may regulate cardiovascular activity through its action in the brain stem, we hypothesized that this neuromodulator serves a role in the EArelated inhibitory effect. Blood pressure (BP) in ventilated male SD rats (400-600 g) anesthetized by ketamine and 
-chloralose was measured during balloon inflation of the stomach. Gastric distension with 6-8 ml of air induced consistent pressor reflexes of
26±1 mmHg that could be repeated every 10 minutes for 100 minutes. When nociceptin (10 nM) was microinjected into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM), the pressor
response induced by gastric distension was inhibited by 68±6%. Thirty minutes of EA also decreased the reflex response by 75±11%; microinjection of saline into the rVLM did not alter the inhibitory effect of EA. In contrast, microinjection of a nociceptin
receptor antagonist into the rVLM promptly reversed the EA response. Pretreatment with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone did not influence the EA-like inhibitory effect of
nociceptin on the distension-induced pressor reflex (22±1 to 8±2 mmHg). Furthermore, a
µ-opioid receptor agonist microinjected into the rVLM after microinjection of a nociceptin receptor antagonist during EA promptly reversed the nociceptin receptor
antagonist-related inhibition of the EA effect. Thus, in addition to the classical opioid system, nociceptin, through ORL-1 receptor stimulation in the rVLM, participates in the modulatory influence of EA on reflex-induced increases in blood pressure.
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