Targeting Mitochondrial Homeostasis: The Role of Acupuncture in Depression Treatment

Haiyang Chen,1,* Chenlin Wu,2,* Qin Lv,2 Mingjie Li,1 Lu Ren2,3 1Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, 110847, People’s Republic of China; 2Graduate School, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, 110847, People’s Republic of China; 3Mental Disorders Research Laboratory, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, 110847, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lu Ren, Email lnzxkc@sina.comBackground: Depression is a common mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, and a range of physical and cognitive symptoms. It affects people of all ages and can significantly impact their daily functioning and quality of life. Mitochondrial homeostasis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of depression. Mitochondrial homeostasis includes mitophagy, mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitoptosis, mitochondrial biogenesis, and mitochondrial dynamics. The regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis is the key link in the prevention and treatment of depression.Methods: In this article, we focus on the core link of depression-mitochondrial homeostasis and summarize the research progress of acupuncture targeting mitochondrial homeostasis in the treatment of depression in recent years, so as to provide ideas and experimental basis for the research and formulation of more appropriate depression treatment strategies.Results: Acupuncture has been found to regulate mitochondrial homeostasis (by modulating mitochondrial autophagy, reducing mitochondrial oxidative stress, inhibiting mitochondrial fission, inducing mitochondrial biogenesis, and maintaining mitochondrial dynamics), alleviate depression-like behavior, and regulate signal pathways and key proteins.Conclusion: Here, we highlight the role of acupuncture in the treatment of depression. A comprehensive exploration of the impact of acupuncture on mitochondrial homeostasis could potentially present a novel mechanism for treating depression and offer fresh perspectives for the treatment of patients with clinical depression.Keywords: depression, mitochondria, homeostasis, acupuncture, mitophagy, review