How does warm-needle acupuncture mechanistically trigger systemic acetylation changes in osteoarthritis?

pain neuroscience open
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Description

The study shows global upregulation of acetylation-related genes after acupuncture treatment, but the mechanistic pathway from needle stimulation to transcriptomic changes remains unexplained. Understanding this mechanism could reveal novel therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis pain management.

Gap type: unexplained_observation Source paper: EXPRESS: Identification of Acetylation-Related Molecular Signatures in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients with Significant Response to Warm-Needle Acupuncture Using Machine-Learning Approaches. (2026, Molecular pain, PMID:41876476)