Effects of Moxibustion on Cellular Immunocomptence of γ-Irradiated Mice
The effects of moxibustion on cellular immunocompetence of γ-irradiated mice were investigated in this study. A total of 240 male young mice (ICR strain), 6–8 weeks of age, were chosen and divided into three groups. Group A was the normal control. Group B, the experimental control, was treated with 400 rad whole body γ-irradiation. Group C, the experimental group, was treated with moxibustion (MT) after being exposed to γ-irradiation. Six to eight mice from each group were sacrified on days 1, 5, 12, 19, 26 and 33 post-irradiation. The body and splenic weights of mice in each group were measured. The cellular immunocompetence was measured by 3H-thymidine uptake in each experimental mouse. The results revealed that 400 rad of γ-ray irridiation inhibited the increase of body and splenic weights, and exerted a pronounced inhibitory effect on the incorporative rates of 3H-thymidine after being stimulated by mitogens such as PHA, PWM, Con A and LPS in the splenic lymphoid cells. MT seemed to help the recovery of the cellular immunocompetence in the γ-ray irradiated mice.