Gua Sha, a press-stroke treatment of the skin, boosts the immune response to intradermal vaccination.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The skin is an important immunological barrier of the body as well as an optimal route for vaccine administration. Gua Sha, which involves press-stroke treatment of the skin, is an effective folk therapy, widely accepted in East Asia, for various symptoms; however, the mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effects have not been clarified. We investigated the influence of Gua Sha on the immunological features of the skin.

Methods

Gua Sha was performed on BALB/c mice and the effects were evaluated using anatomical, histological, and cytometric methods as well as cytokine determination locally and systemically. The effect on intradermal vaccination was assessed with antigen-specific subtype antibody responses.

Results

Blood vessel expansion, erythrocyte extrava

SUBMITTER: Chen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5028785 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature